World's Enemy
by Emeraldjewel
Summary: Years from now they would call him a madman. On the contrary, he had never felt more sane. A celebrated hero emerges as humanity's darkest dream. This is Crisis Core, according to Sephiroth.
1. One

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

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**World's Enemy**

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**Chapter One**

Occasionally there were times like this… when he was able to recall various moments in his lifetime all at once with perfect clarity. He supposed most people would consider it an oddity, but to him it was yet another one of his many talents. Who else could so easily and simultaneously reflect upon the past, consider the present, and extrapolate on the future? For instance, Godo's quill was presently scratching along the parchment with a hesitant scrawl. The sound reminded him of the way Genesis would unconsciously pick at the worn binding of _Loveless_ when he was bored. _Bored…_ When all of this was through, he would be standing before a crowd of reporters, pretending to be interested in their questions. Flashing lights from cameras already made his mako-sensitive eyes burn before any pictures were even taken. He had been there when Angeal was accepted into SOLDIER, and the man's whining then after the showering had been intolerable. They were just kids back then. Godo finally finished signing the damn thing.

One of the Wutaian generals crossed his thick arms over his chest, his face appearing unamused. Staniv was his name; a towering mass slightly taller than himself, and packed tightly with pure hard muscle. He was usually an intimidating sight to behold, but truthfully Sephiroth thought little of him.

Godo passed a hand over his weary face, and then handed the parchment to the man standing behind him. Staniv took it and handed it to Sephiroth, saying, "Are you satisfied now, Shin-Ra man?"

"Good question," Sephiroth muttered. "To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure." He stared at the signed sheet in his hand, Wutai's surrender to Shin-Ra. He supposed any other man in his position would feel great elation over the victory, but Sephiroth felt nothing at all.

One of the other Wutaian generals, a short leaner man in comparison to Staniv, asked, "Why do they not just send one of their bureaucrats to retrieve the treaty? Or is that what will become of you now? A great warrior such as yourself reduced to a weakling's status behind a desk… it's disgraceful to say the least. And pathetic."

Sephiroth glared, but Godo spoke, sounding tired. "Give thought to this moment, Sephiroth," said the leader of Wutai. "History tends to repeat itself through the ages. Loyalty or no loyalty to Shin-Ra; it makes no difference. They do not honor the warriors. They will not honor you, even as they print tabloid headlines and shout your name from the crowds tomorrow. Today Shin-Ra kills Wutai. Tomorrow: SOLDIER."

One of the others in B-group spent the next ten minutes trying to reassure him, even though he hadn't asked for it. They were more disturbed by Godo's prediction and needed to reassure _themselves_ by pretending to console him. One of the 2nd's – Posada was her name – interrupted the exchange out in Fort Tamblin's main courtyard.

"Sir, the director just made contact with a distress call." The tan-skinned woman shouldered her sniper rifle and brought her mobile out from under her dark layered hair. "He was assaulted by forces outside of the fort."

Sephiroth stopped walking and abruptly turned to her. "Who's with him?"

"Just a group of infantrymen. A-group went to settle the situation, but Director Lazard thinks it might be more than just leftover Wutaian remnants."

Sephiroth went on ahead without waiting for the team's other two members. Angeal was in A-group. He was supposed to have contacted Sephiroth's team when they were out of Fort Tamblin, regardless of the situation.

_It's not like him to disregard procedure,_ he thought. With that thought, Sephiroth began to consider the worst-case scenario as the most likely explanation.

And he hated being right all the time.

The man currently in possession of the Wutaian nation's surrender to the Shin-Ra conglomerate was publicly thought to be the most dangerous man in the world. No, he wasn't a criminal, or a hitman. Sephiroth was Shin-Ra's hero, their poster boy. Almost everyone knew that he was capable of physical feats no other member of SOLDIER had been able to accomplish. Everyone knew of his abilities as a swordsman. What most people _didn't_ know was that he also had an I.Q level that would have earned him a top position in the Science Department had he been born as someone else; someone who wasn't 6' 1", possessed acute killer instincts, and for all nature's intents and purposes, set completely and utterly apart from any human being he had ever known. What place for him was there, other than SOLDIER?

_If I do not yet feel out of place here, why should you?_

He thought this as he stood over a corpse, looking down at a familiar face. Genesis Rhapsodos lay still in the Mount Tamblin forest, among a group of other dead Genesis Rhapsodos'. The sword wounds on their armor suggested Angeal's handi-work, or at least that of his latest protégé's, that kid Angeal had always sworn was puppy-eyed. A closer look at the identification tags of the corpses proved them to be the defectors that had followed Rhapsodos to his anti-Shinra rebellion, his facial likeness somehow copied onto their own.

Sephiroth continued onwards, following only an instinct that pulled him north. Soon enough he smelled the faint scent of something burning. As he ran the woods seemed to blur together against the sides of his path, no longer resembling trees. When he reached a clearing, a glint of silver caught his eye… a SOLDIER's blade twirling in the air to a 2nd classes' silent victory tune. Sephiroth imagined that the tune as being short, but like a mini fanfare…

…the kid had been celebrating too soon.

An inferno burst through the trees, and Zack Fair, his back turned to the horned demon he thought he had defeated, did not have the time to evade or counterattack. The heat searing the young swordsman's back, Zack collapsed, attempting to duck under the flames. Sephiroth was already in front of them.

His long blade found Zack's opponent, and upon making contact, the summoning exploded into streams of fire. Sephiroth swiped the Masamune at now empty air, once again impressed by the long katana's vitality, even against extreme heat. His vision wavered for a moment… what had been plain-forested ground was for a split second a desolate volcanic wasteland. Only Zack seemed to have been completely fooled by Ifrit's illusion. It took Sephiroth only one guess to know who had summoned it, as he only knew one person who possessed the materia.

Zack shook the ashes from his disorderly black hair and stood, gaping at his superior. "Awesome…" he breathed. Sephiroth walked past Angeal Hewley's protégé, to another gathering of motionless bodies. Without caution he tossed aside one of the dead soldier's helmets, revealing yet another pale face and brunette head.

"Genesis," Sephiroth muttered. Zack gasped.

"The missing SOLDIER 1st class?" the younger man exclaimed, his glowing blue eyes growing wide in disbelief as Sephiroth pulled the other infantryman's helmet off to show him another face that looked like Genesis'. "Why do they have the same face?"

"Genesis copies," was the 1st's only explanation. Sephiroth studied his contemporary's lifeless expression for any sign of another clue.

"Copies? You mean like… _clones?_" Taking a step back, Zack ran a gloved hand through his dark spiky hair. "Human copies?"

Sephiroth turned his head towards him, his thin silver eyebrows knitted together. "Where is Angeal?" he demanded. It hadn't been like him to disregard standard procedure, and it _certainly_ wasn't like him to leave a 2nd class alone to fend for himself against a summon.

Zack began pacing nervously back and forth. "He was supposed to be fighting here, but…" Sephiroth looked back at the ground. Zack was just a kid, confused and uninformed.

"So Angeal went with him as well…" Damn it, he hated being right all the time.

"Huh?" Zack stepped forward as Sephiroth stood. "Hey, what do you mean by that?" Sephiroth detected a slight hint of panic in Zack's voice.

"Angeal has betrayed us," answered Sephiroth, his tone devoid of doubt, "that's what it means."

Zack's reaction was completely expected. Predictably the boy exclaimed, "Impossible! I know Angeal! He wouldn't betray his SOLDIER honor! He cared about that more than anything else!"

His jade eyes narrowed, Sephiroth turned around to look at Zack again, considering what he had said. Under his superior's piercing gaze, Zack seemed to falter, but only for a moment.

"Angeal would never betray _me_!" Zack insisted, looking outraged that Sephiroth would even suggest such a notion. Sephiroth crossed his arms, studying the 2nd class. Zack's expression had instantly transformed from being unsure to absolutely confident in his convictions.

_I hope you're right kid,_ Sephiroth thought but didn't say. He led the way back to the Shin-Ra camp, saying nothing else to him. Director Lazard, with Wutai's surrender in his hands, seemed to barely register the victory as Sephiroth relayed the news about Angeal to him.

The blonde man did not become as flustered as Zack, but Sephiroth could perceive that he was at least solemn about it. Fiddling with the rolled up parchment, Lazard asked, "You know what Shinra will ask of you now, right? We can't keep delaying the inevitable with Genesis."

Sephiroth glanced over at another tent, where Zack was retelling his side of the story to the other 2nd classes, Kunsel and Naomi Posada. His animated gestures seemed to suggest that he was describing what he thought was the most exciting part: when Sephiroth stepped in to deal with Ifrit. Kunsel seemed impressed and Posada complimented Zack. Angeal's student beamed, countering with a compliment of his own regarding Posada's aesthetics.

"Well…" Sephiroth answered Lazard with a murmur. "The company will need more than one 1st class to track down two, I think."

"Angeal had nominated him," Lazard replied, his gaze now on the oblivious Zack also.

Sephiroth eyed Lazard. "Fine, then I'll nominate Posada. Zack Fair was close to Angeal, and considering the current situation, I don't think it'd be wise to-,"

Lazard tilted his head in a curious manner. "You think perhaps that Zack is a little _too_ loyal to Angeal, and that he'll defect as well?"

"It's a possibility," Sephiroth answered. "If we risk it, we'll have _three_ 1st class defectors on our hands."

"Zack has never met Genesis," Lazard pointed out, "it'd be presumptuous to say that he would join his cause simply because Angeal did so. Besides, is Naomi even ready?"

"Are any of them?" Sephiroth countered. "Either way it doesn't matter. This is about preserving the SOLDIER program."

Lazard folded his hands under his chin in thought, looking up once only to readjust the glasses on the bridge of his nose. He seemed concentrated on a map of Wutai on the table, but Sephiroth imagined that he was actually weighing Zack Fair and Naomi Posada as 1st classes while wondering what he could say to convince the executives on the board that an increase in budget for SOLDIER would be crucial to keeping Wutai under Shin-Ra's submission.

The director cleared his throat. "If you're serious about nominating Naomi then, I'm going to need a better reason than that you're merely using her to prevent Zack from defecting when he becomes a 1st." Lazard stood to close the tent flaps, cutting off Sephiroth's view of the three 2nd's.

Sephiroth frowned. Posada had been present for most of the Wutai assignments, but her skill as a swordsman was average to say the least. She was valued as a marksman, as it wasn't usually common for a member of SOLDIER to use firearms as their primary weapons. Posada mostly served as a long-distance sniper, covering for the men that were caught in the sudden ambushes at the frontlines.

"She's often shown leadership qualities on missions," he admitted. "That will be invaluable now that we're without Genesis and Angeal. Posada is also a decent tactician, though with marksmanship as her specialty, how couldn't she be?"

Lazard jotted something down on the margins of a week-old _Midgarian Chronicle_ article. "Very well. Anything else?"

Honestly, it was too soon to tell. Naomi Posada had been a 2nd for a while, but Sephiroth felt that she still had some ways to go, as did Zack, to becoming a SOLDIER 1st class. He could describe to Lazard some of her other positive qualities and talents, but in truth, any other SOLDIER hoping to be promoted to 1st could learn those things as well. Nothing else currently set her apart from her peer, Kunsel.

"Give it some time then, Sephiroth," Lazard suggested when the silver-haired man did not answer immediately. "Right now you're not really comparing two 2nd's, are you?"

Lazard's eyes appeared inquisitive and curious. He peered at Sephiroth over the thin lenses set on his nose, as if trying to read the man. However, one could not read a book that was not open. Without answering him, Sephiroth turned away and left the tent. Outside, the 2nds were gathered quietly around a bon fire with some infantrymen.

Sephiroth tried to imagine which one of them would be more capable of chasing his old friends. It was easier to imagine than Sephiroth doing it himself.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I've always felt that Crisis Core was one of the best insights provided in canon to Sephiroth's character. Not only does it give neat little details to the Nibelheim incident, it also shows us Jenova's favorite son _before_ Jenova, and while it's quite satisfying to behold as a fan, as a fan you also find yourself wanting more. That's the purpose of this story. While Zack is running around doing squats in Banora and such, you'll now get to see Crisis Core, according to Sephiroth.

On another note: Naomi also appeared in another fic of mine, _Silver Mercury_, which was a crossover between Star Wars and FFVII. You won't need to read it to catch up with her character, as she'll be a minor one in this story anyhow. I intend to keep her in the realm of the other 2nd's like Kunsel.

Thanks to those who've read and reviewed.


	2. Two

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

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"But that kind of assignment is for a 2nd, hell, a 3rd!" Shinra palmed his forehead, staring incredulously at the tall imposing figure standing before his desk. He smothered his cigar in the ashtray, pounding it into the cup with a frustrated hand. "Damn it, Sephiroth, this isn't the time to be modest!"

"I won't go to Banora," Sephiroth said simply. He stared down at the seated president of the Shin-Ra corporation, his jade eyes narrowed slightly. Shinra bristled at the retort.

"Use your right to refuse all you want. I'll have that project decommissioned and those ruins destroyed before you even make it there," Shinra promised.

"Not likely," Sephiroth replied assuredly, causing Shinra's face to redden from the audacity. "I know how much money the company has spent on this, and how much effort it took to keep it quiet. The only reason it's known to exist is _because_ the team went out of its way to ask for SOLDIER's assistance."

The president of the Shin-Ra corporation pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Sephiroth allowed himself a moment's internal victory, making sure not to show on his face how he pleased he was by the older man's reaction. The president had no choice but to relent, and before he knew it, Sephiroth was on his way back to Lazard's office for details on the mission.

A week had passed since their victory in Wutai. Sephiroth had been occupied for those seven days with a seemingly never-ending parade of the media. He had learned over the years to numb and disconnect himself from it all, automatically repeating the same answers he gave to previous interviewers of the past, then eventually disappearing into the depths of the Shin-Ra building where no one could find him. He passed the rest of the time by simply reading into the latest of the company's troubles and tribulations, his mind quickly finding solutions where entire teams of economists and scientists could not. They could give him a job just solving their day-to-day problems.

But there were still his own to solve.

As soon as the frenzy had died down in the streets of Midgar over the end of the too-long war against Wutai, it had become obvious to him that what Shinra had wanted from him immediately was a solution to the Genesis Rhapsodos problem. The answer to that was simple enough – Sephiroth had to find him, as well as Angeal, and bring them to Shin-Ra justice, even if it was at the point of a sword. The most logical solution would have been to try them both for treason against the company. He even knew where to start looking. Still, Sephiroth would not go to Banora.

"So we'll have to send someone else," Lazard stated, the back of his chair facing Sephiroth as the director of SOLDIER gazed through the window of his office, at the dismal gray that was the city of Midgar and the wastelands beyond it.

"Have the Turks sent out first to gather intelligence," Sephiroth suggested. He may have refused to go to Banora, but he wasn't going to abandon the problem completely. "Once the situation is assessed, then we can choose what type of SOLDIER personnel is adequate for the job."

"You know it'll be you eventually," Lazard replied, turning the chair back around to face him. The blonde man idly tossed the file he had been holding onto the desk, the words '_Rare Materia Search_' jumping out at Sephiroth from the pages. "This mission you've chosen to take part of instead… is it just to buy you some time?"

"To buy Angeal some time," Sephiroth admitted, his usually smoldering gaze dimming as his eyes found a random paperweight on Lazard's desk to focus on.

The steely eyes behind Lazard's glasses appeared sympathetic. "I think I understand. Though it was you who had Angeal officially declared a traitor, you didn't want to throw a friend to the wolves just yet."

"Not when I'm the wolf he'd be thrown to," Sephiroth answered, gently picking up the glass paperweight with a gloved hand. He studied it for a moment, at the swirling pattern of green that was frozen inside. It was meant to resemble a materia gem.

"I see," said Lazard with a nod. Leaning back in the office chair, Lazard passed a hand through his blond hair, a gesture that briefly reminded Sephiroth of the president's son. "You do realize Shinra won't make this easy for you?"

Sephiroth nodded. "He already threatened to decommission the project," he replied with a shrug that was unconcerned. "A bluff not entirely unexpected."

Lazard laced his fingers together in front of his chin. "Well then, if this is what you truly want for your next assignment, I see no reason not to clear you for it. Here is your official briefing:" Sephiroth turned his eyes attentively onto the director, the familiar burn of the green Mako a minor discomfort as he concentrated on the man's words. Lazard leaned back a bit in his chair, the only sign that he was affected by the glare of SOLDIER's General.

"As you know a research team of ours has recently discovered a set of old ruins buried in the jungles just south of Cosmo Canyon," Lazard explained. "They were on an extensive search for rare materia thought to be left behind by the Ancients. This expedition was meant to be a well-guarded secret strictly within the confines of the Science Department, but when looters and thieves started attacking the team to get to the treasures they were searching for, the researchers in question demanded some protection. They dispatched some of the Turks to deal with it, but matters did not seem to improve after that. They're now down to their last researchers, historians and excavators that the company does not want to lose."

Sephiroth smirked coldly. It was final proof that that Shinra's words were just empty threats. He wasn't surprised to have been right all along, but Sephiroth indulged himself in the feeling of satisfaction nonetheless.

Lazard continued. "Now that you've sent the Turks to thoroughly investigate Banora, the researchers will want personnel to continue protecting them." _As was your intention all along_, Lazard's thoughts seemed to say to Sephiroth, and it was true. At the ruins, Sephiroth would be free of conflicting jurisdiction from any other part of Shin-Ra.

Sephiroth never considered himself a mind-reader or something else of such nature, but he had recognized long ago the obvious thoughts that seemed to plant themselves on people's faces. It worked most often with those he knew well and spent a lot of time around, such as Lazard, Angeal or Genesis, as it would only make sense that he'd eventually recognize the patterns on their expressions. However, it also worked with the most ordinary of people. Sephiroth was a firm believer in the idea that the masses were sheep, and that they all thought the same. A look of adoration his way was always read as, _'One day I'll be just like him,'_ or in a female's case, _'One day I'll have someone just like him.'_ For Sephiroth, expressions just seemed to shout the exact thoughts among the clichés that were human beings. For those not quite so ordinary, it was the gestures and movements that were more original, with actual personality, such as the fanfare tune Zack Fair had hummed along in his head when he 'defeated' Ifrit the summon.

Was Sephiroth telepathic? Honestly, he didn't care enough to really find out. Genesis used to often joke that Sephiroth should have been a lawyer instead of a SOLDIER.

_'Then I'd have had a shot at being the hero for once…_' were Genesis' thoughts, or so Sephiroth discerned from the brunette's slightly creased brow and how he picked worriedly at the bindings of his copy of _Loveless._

A mission among the remains of the Ancients, that's what Sephiroth needed. This mission wouldn't be the first time he visited some ruin left behind by an archaic race. They were littered all over the Planet, big and small, significant and not. Their connection to the past often helped organize his thoughts. He'd have a better handle on things regarding Genesis and Angeal once those diggers were finished looting the place.

Suddenly Sephiroth noticed that Lazard was staring intently at the files again, holding them up to his face for Sephiroth not to see. "Have you noticed the members of the research team yet?" Lazard asked from behind the manilla folder. "The project leader…?"

Sephiroth waved dismissively. "It doesn't matter." His indifference instantly changed into a frightful menacing look. "The project leader isn't Hojo is it?" He'd rather spend a year in Banora than a day in some ruins that the second-rate hack truly knew nothing about.

Lazard shook his head. "No, but this person might be worse… by your standards anyway."

Sephiroth was curious, but not curious enough to ask whom Lazard was referring to. For the moment he couldn't think of any other person that could be worse than the man who thought himself better than Sephiroth's mentor, Professor Gast. Not that he was afraid of the little pest… Shin-Ra would just hold him responsible if someone were to find Hojo's remains on one of the ancient sacrificial altars, and Sephiroth didn't want to deal with the frustration that would bring.

"I'll deal with it," Sephiroth answered, turning away from the director. Suppressing a chuckle, Lazard tossed the folder again, his eyes lingering for only another moment at the project leader's profile.

"Try to stay on your best behavior then," Lazard jested, earning him an unkindly scowl from the other man, Sephiroth's porcelain features darkening some. Lazard laughed quietly to himself when the 1st class was gone.


	3. Three

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

* * *

_General Sephiroth:_

_You asked me to keep you up to date on the Banora investigation. A handful of Turks have been planted in the village, disguised as tourists coming to visit the dumbapple factory. They'll be keeping an eye on Genesis' parents, as well as Angeal's mother. Gillian Hewley has remained in her residence these past two days. Locals have informed us that she has fallen ill lately. The Rhapsodos' claim they haven't seen nor heard from their son since he defected._

_We'll keep you posted._

_- Tseng_

The whirring of the helicopter blades pounded in Sephiroth's ears. He could just barely discern the soft click of his mobile as he snapped it closed, Tseng's text message disappearing into the handheld's brain. The infantrymen seated across from him were silent, one of them fiddling with the ammunition stored in his vest. Their helmets guarded their facial expressions from Sephiroth, but the fidgeting of the younger one suggested something along the lines of, _'I hope I didn't forget my…' _Sephiroth couldn't tell what, _'that would be so embarrassing… my first mission with the Great Sephiroth.'_

So he stared at the window, down at the long stretch of dark green, indicating the jungles south of Cosmo Canyon. Sephiroth felt the helicopter tilt slightly to the right, pulling him against the window some more. The altitude of the jungle grew steadily higher as they progressed, and the trees denser, almost making the forests seem black instead of the vibrant green.

Sephiroth thought about Gillian, Angeal's mother. He hadn't seen in her years, but she occasionally wrote to him. SOLDIER's hero wasn't fond of many people, but if anyone were to ask him, he supposed one of his answers would be Gillian Hewley, the kindly mother of his best friend. When he first met her, Gillian hadn't regarded Sephiroth with the awe and nervousness of the ordinary people that met him for the first time. Angeal had just achieved First Class status, and Sephiroth volunteered to accompany him to personally bring Gillian the news. Gillian made them lunch, and insisted that Sephiroth needed to eat more. She wouldn't let him leave the table until he finished a second serving. He'd never encountered such audacity from _anyone_, and for some reason, it hadn't bothered him. Was that what it was like to have a mother? Sephiroth often wondered that when he saw her.

His only memory of Jenova was of a pale trembling hand reaching out towards him before falling, and a glimpse of a beautiful woman's face pleading. Hair drenched with sweat matted to the sides of her face, Jenova screamed something – Sephiroth couldn't remember what. Her hair was brown, sometimes black, and sometimes even Sephiroth's silver. Her eyes… ordinary brown or Sephiroth's green? Whenever the details changed, Sephiroth questioned the authenticity of the recollection. He could boast near photographic memory, but as a newly born infant, he was simply too young to remember it correctly. What if it had never happened at all?

Genesis' parents were kind enough, if not a little ambitious. Genesis complained often about his mother and father being demanding, always expecting so much from their son who steadily rose in the ranks of SOLDIER. They had showered Sephiroth with gifts, and repeated Genesis' many childhood accomplishments more times than Sephiroth could keep track of. Genesis hated it, always embarrassed when they showed Sephiroth the awards Genesis won for his 'Banora White juice' idea, and the success it brought their family. Sephiroth said he could understand Genesis' grief, but wasn't it supposed to be natural for parents to be proud of their child?

_"Yes, yes, but they always want more! Never satisfied, like a SOLDIER recruit addicted to mako."_

Sephiroth's response: _"I can't say for myself, but I've gathered that parents would do anything to see their children succeed."_

Genesis had huffed and turned away, burying himself in _Loveless._

Sephiroth opened the door to the helicopter as it hovered over a small clearing. It was too small for the helicopter to land, and otherwise occupied by a cluster of tents and trailers. Diggers and researchers ran about below them, holding onto their caps and trying to keep documents and items from flying away as the propeller blades threw up dust and leaves and wind.

He turned to look at the pilot. "Take it back to Junon and remain there until I call back." Naomi Posada nodded, readjusting her headset.

"Good luck, sir."

Without another word he leapt out of the chopper without hesitation, not waiting to see if the infantrymen would follow. Without so much as a bend at the knees, his feet found the ground, and his long silver hair slapped at his backside as the wind blew it about. The strands fell back into place as the helicopter gradually lifted away.

"Is there something wrong?" asked one of the infantrymen behind him. Sephiroth turned to see them brushing dirt off of their uniforms. Even though the helicopter was gone, the research team was still running about in a frenzy.

A tall and slender dark-skinned woman came running up towards them, dressed in khaki shorts and a small purple top, tied just above her naval. She was out of breath by the time she reached them, her body covered in dirt and her thick hair in disarray from her headband.

"Thank goodness you've come!" she exclaimed, bending over and holding onto her knees as she tried to breathe. "The ruins! Some of them are trapped inside! I tried to tell her to turn back, but she wouldn't listen! Just kept going, looking for that damn Keystone!"

His eyebrows knitted together. "Keystone?" He hadn't heard about _that_ since…

"Doesn't exist, I told her, but she's so damn stubborn!" Her hazel eyes growing wide, the woman took a hold of Sephiroth's coat and pleaded, "Please! You have to get her! The traps have been activated, and we don't know how to make them stop!"

His gloved hand fell on the woman's bare shoulder, and she gasped as he shoved her aside, breaking the hold she had on his coat. "Lead me to the ruins," he commanded, and looking indignant she took off ahead of Sephiroth and the pair of infantrymen.

Sephiroth unsheathed Masamune to clear away some of the foliage on the narrow foot trail. The woman, being just a few inches shorter than Sephiroth himself, crouched to get through the tangled branches, but Sephiroth didn't have the patience for any of that. The sun barely made it through the canopies in some areas of the jungle. Behind him the younger infantryman swatted a mosquito that had targeted his neck. Already they were sweating, the humidity and closeness of air a far cry from the smoggy oxygen in Midgar.

"We have to hurry," the woman reminded them, turning sideways to squeeze through a tight space between the trees. Her voice sounded strained and anxious. "Ment has a map he's drawn of the tombs, so use that so you can avoid the faux ante-chambers."

"Fox what?" asked an infantryman.

"Small rooms deliberately built with nothing inside to fool looters," Sephiroth explained. The woman nodded in agreement, her lips parted from trying to answer before he could.

"Here, just a little more…" she strained, and then pushed on through the thick vegetation, her foot splashing into a stream. Sephiroth hacked at greenery, creating a proper opening. What awaited him was a small doorway, surrounded by panicking excavators. The complex itself was buried in nature, no amount of masonry visible, save for the carving above the entrance. It was a face with empty eye sockets, and an open mouth with snakes and insects spewing forth from it.

The dark-skinned woman caught him staring at it and said, "That's the symbol for 'plague' or 'disease.' There are other hieroglyphs inside that suggest similar things."

The other diggers turned, finally realizing Sephiroth's presence. They immediately backed away as he stepped forward towards the entrance. An older man with a scowl set deep into his face handed him some parchment.

"You must be Ment," Sephiroth said.

"Welcome to the Tomb of Those Who Still Fight," Ment said, his tone lined with sarcasm as well as greeting. Frowning, the seasoned researcher pointed to a spot on the map. "Try there first. That was where we last saw her before the traps went off."

"'_Her_' being the project leader?" asked Sephiroth, and Ment nodded.

"We've lost some others too, including a group of students interning with us. They're good kids. They don't deserve to be electrocuted or impaled." Ment turned to the frightened woman who found Sephiroth. "Myrna, if I catch you trying to find her yourself-,"

"Don't worry," she replied. "It's not my fault she's an idiot anyway."

"You think she activated the traps," Sephiroth guessed.

"Who knows?" Myrna answered, "but I only just got married a few months ago. I'm not about to throw that all away for her search for something that doesn't even exist."

Sephiroth pocketed the map. "Stay here and guard the entrance," he told the infantrymen. They were more than happy to oblige, already murmuring superstitious fears to one another. He suddenly remembered that Angeal used to enjoy those 'cursed temple' action films. On that thought, he stepped through into the darkness.

The entrance was tiny, and he had to crouch to avoid the low ceiling. Someone screamed deep inside the tomb as Sephiroth's eyes took a moment to adjust, the mako burning slightly. The narrow passage sloped downwards rather sharply. Was there no choice but to slide down? If so, how had the others escaped when the traps went off? Sephiroth looked at Ment's map. According to the drawing, a chamber on the north side was damaged and opened up to the opposite end of the tomb, under a large cavern. It should be easy enough to navigate back to the researcher's camp from that point.

Sephiroth put one foot forward and slid down, hunched still to avoid hitting his head. The slope seemed to go on forever, and on the way he glimpsed flares that the diggers had thrown in to illuminate the tomb, long since extinguished. When he finally reached the bottom, more extinguished flares crunched under his boots. There was no need for them however, as the researchers had the sense to light some torches that were mounted on the walls. Sephiroth looked about at the circular room, slightly intrigued by the hieroglyphs and drawings etched into the walls. There were about six or seven figures that took predominance in the images, possibly deities or materia summonings. An austere female figure reminded him of Shiva, the ice summoning, and another vaguely of Odin.

The round chamber opened up into numerous passages and corridors. Sephiroth chose one indicated on Ment's map, one that led northeast. He ignored the first junction to his right; one that led to a chamber that Ment had named the 'Bahamut room.' Just some ways after that Sephiroth paused at a chasm in the ground. Peering into it he glimpsed enormous spikes that jutted up from the bottom. They were easy to miss in the darkness.

_Apparently the floor collapsed,_ he realized, spotting the fresh body of an unfortunate digger, impaled on one of the spikes.

The gap was long, with only a few pieces of undamaged tile scattered about it. It would have been impossible for a normal human being to cross it. Sephiroth stepped back a bit and then jumped, covering the distance effortlessly. The path broke off into two different directions again, and he chose the right, heading along a plain hall, devoid of any more ancient drawings or decorated statues. According to the map, this particular path would eventually lead him to an area called the 'Shiva room', then to a large hall titled 'Original Entranceway', then to the 'Ramuh room' if he proceeded along the same direction. Then finally, he would reach his appointed destination, the largest chamber the tomb had to offer, apparently the main burial site.

Sephiroth stepped into the 'Shiva room', taken aback by the sudden change in scenery. What had been dark and dank and humid was now bright, and blue and most importantly of all, _freezing._ Ice covered every inch of the square area, even up to the shrine against the wall, which contained a bust of the same austere Shiva he had seen upon entering. A body lay in frozen _pieces_ all over the floor, bits of red and flesh easily visible within the ice chunks. Another body sat hunched in the corner, frozen completely, but still intact.

Sephiroth carefully treaded the icy floor, the rubber soles of his boots tempted to slide along. His sword was still unsheathed, and he studied the room, aware of the obvious homage to the ice summoning. It was depicted everywhere, and the largest wall engraving showed her upon a throne on a snow-covered cliff overlooking a massive crater.

_**Though it was I who froze you in the Injury you caused, somehow you have escaped, Calamity.**_

He turned around, alarmed. Yet, there were no others in the room, save for the frozen man in the corner and his companion in pieces. When Sephiroth heard the voice again, it felt like icy breath on the back of his neck.

_**Speak, Calamity!**_

Snarling, Sephiroth swung Masamune, it's edge cutting one of the iced walls. Suddenly, before his eyes, an apparition materialized in front of Shiva's stone bust. It was the same stern woman, though she looked very unlike the summoning he was used to facing. The ice deity's skin was not the traditional blue, nor was her hair or lips. Instead she was simply pale, her white hair frosty-looking, and her robes elegant and regal.

_**What you seek… we simply cannot let you have, not with the Death you brought Her last time.**_

Shiva said this, and yet Sephiroth did not see her lips move to speak... but somehow he knew it was her. His irritation gradually grew into anger, and finally some unexplained hatred for the summoning. Sephiroth's veins seemed to burn for a need to see Shiva's blood spilled. Devastation was a clear and appealing solution to his current obstacle.

_**She screams, Calamity. You bring Her pain with your blood, infecting Her and the children.**_

"Enough!" Sephiroth brought Masamune down towards Shiva's head, but it made no contact, simply passing through the apparition. Shiva only blinked.

_**And this abomination you've brought to our sanctuary? A perfect being, you say? What of the others who have also come with you, who decay with every passing sun?**_

Sephiroth didn't understand, and he didn't want to. He concentrated hard on his anger, focused on it. There was no real reason to hate this strange version of the summoning. This was all simply some sort of challenge designed for the ruins by the Ancients, all part of the trap to protect the place. Calming himself he focused the energy from his materia, feeling the cold give way to the satisfying heat that emanated from his palm. The flames shot out at Shiva and she was engulfed in them. Her scream was agonizing, a wail that penetrated deep into Sephiroth's ears.

He was certain he would shatter just as the ice around him did so. The chunks fell and broke on the floor like glass, and the ice beneath his feet cracked throughout the room, freeing his feet from the slippery trap. Already it had all begun to melt, and Sephiroth was satisfied by the heat waves that licked at his chilled face. His fire spell devoured the specter until Shiva was simply no more.

The SOLDIER 1st class was silent for a long moment, looking around once more to take in his surroundings. _Never_ had he seen Shiva like this. Genesis had been adept with summon materia, and they used them often simply to train. _Never_ had the summons attempted to communicate with their summoners. Sephiroth did not even try to interpret the ice queen's cryptic words. They were as foreign to him as the very ruins he stood in, verses and rooms not seen or heard by human beings for over two thousand years. Shaking his head, Sephiroth continued to the next area.

It was a hall with a massive stone doorway that was sealed shut, what Ment's map described as the 'Original Entranceway.' Sephiroth approached the doors and found a human hand sticking out in between them, the body belonging to it clearly squashed flat by the two stones. He did not bother searching for a way to open them. Instead, he proceeded in the same direction from before, across from Shiva's room and into the next one.

_It doesn't take much to guess what's going to happen next,_ he thought, and he was right. The 'Ramuh room' was awash with random and chaotic bolts of electricity shooting out in every direction from all four walls. Sephiroth stood just behind the entrance where the lightning was not yet reaching. Directly ahead of him was the opening to the final room, the Burial Chamber.

_**You've taken other forms before, but none like this.**_

Sephiroth tensed, already feeling a foreign hatred rise for this new, wizened voice. The bolts of lightning continued to strike the walls about Ramuh's area, with no particular pattern. The scent of burnt ozone that came with every strike was almost nauseating.

_**Is there no end to the contamination? Do you exist simply to bring despair upon **__all __**life, not just the beings you have a vendetta against?**_

Sephiroth grasped the stone doorframe, watching for any kind of hesitation in the lightning strikes. Was Ramuh really referring to him? Or… perhaps Shin-Ra? After all, there were groups that felt that Mako harvesting was killing the Planet, and scholars in Cosmo Canyon had presented scientific evidence to prove it as well. Shin-Ra also had many enemies, more than enough for a vendetta.

_**We've chosen this state for ourselves… not joining our brethren in the Promised Land so that we could continue to fight. If that means forever wandering the Lifestream and being harnessed by others to prevent your return, then so be it.**_

"_Welcome to the Tomb of Those Who Still Fight,"_ Ment had said to him. Were the summons once Ancients then?

_**By our given birthright-,**_

Sephiroth charged forward, no longer interested in the lightning sage's drivel. A bolt streamed across in front of him, and he dove over it, rolling as another tried to strike him from the ceiling. A calculated slice with Masamune discharged another, sending the energy back to a wall and blowing a portion out of the stone. He instinctually dodged every amount of pure voltage thrown at him, gracefully evading until he reached the other side.

When he was finally in the safety of the Burial Chamber, Sephiroth turned back to see the previous room. A transparent image of an old man with an impossibly long black beard stared impassively back at him, the electricity surrounding him like an aura. Sephiroth strode into the Burial Chamber, sneering. Shiva and Ramuh. Too easy.

The burial site was the largest area he had seen by far in the tomb. Towering columns held the impossibly high ceiling aloft, making Sephiroth wonder how far he had actually descended into the ruins. A second floor followed the room's perimeter, but he could discern nothing of interest from the ground. The main attraction of the burial room was the arrangement of stone sepulchers, seven in total. The one closest to him was completely destroyed, a pile of rubble with no Ancient's remains to be seen.

There was no sign of the project leader.

_She's probably the one in pieces in Shiva's room,_ he decided, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Damn it! Not _Loveless _again!"

Sephiroth's head perked up at the exclamation. It had sounded muffled, but it was certainly there, and to his great reprieve, not belonging to some immaterial entity of days long since past. He even knew to whom it belonged.

He carefully approached the right wall, standing close enough to hear shuffling on the other side. "Dahlia?" he called. He quickly glanced at Ment's map for any indication of a secret room, but there was none.

The shuffling stopped, and the pattering of hurried footsteps approached the wall. "Sephiroth?" she asked in disbelief.

Sephiroth sighed. "Are you trapped?" he asked, sounding more annoyed than concerned.

"…Yes."

Rolling his eyes, he replied, "Fine. Stand back." When he was sure that Dahlia was a safe distance away from the wall, he readied his materia, sending out lightning that blasted a hole in the wall. To bring down rest he used an explosive fire spell, eventually finding the trapped project leader standing alone in the secret room, her hands on her hips.

"What are you _doing_ here?" she demanded, brown eyes set in a glare.

"I should ask you the same," he said, stepping over the burnt rubble inside. "Besides, didn't you call for SOLDIER?"

"I didn't think they would send _you_," Dahlia replied, her tone anything but grateful for the hero's presence. "I thought something like this was for a 2nd, hell, a 3rd!"

Sephiroth scowled. "You're welcome."

Shaking her head, the woman turned away from Sephiroth, back towards what seemed to be a large tablet with the hieroglyphs of the Ancients inscribed all over it. With a huff she sat down on the ground with a notebook in her lap to copy down the words.

Dahlia Cuddy. Lazard had been right about the project leader being worse than Hojo by Sephiroth's standards. Where Hojo was a bothersome pest, Dahlia was a migraine waiting to happen.

"Dahlia, you _do_ realize that a number of your colleagues are dead?"

She paused, but didn't look at him. "The traps. I had just discovered the opening to this room when it all happened, and then the wall sealed itself shut before I could do anything."

Sephiroth approached the tablet she was translating and stood next to it to look at her, though she deliberately kept her eyes away from him and solely on the stone. She was wearing a black tank top and gray cargo pants, her light brown hair pulled up in a quick and messy bun. He hadn't heard from her in over three years.

"A woman named Myrna mentioned the Keystone," said Sephiroth. "What makes you think it's here?"

Dahlia dropped her pen on the notebook and rubbed at her tired-looking eyes. "I was so close! I was sure that this place guarded it, but this room ended up being nothing more than a faux ante-chamber with _Loveless_ inscribed here." She flicked her pen at the tablet with a frown.

"_Loveless?_" he questioned, now glancing at the foreign script. "I hadn't realized it was that old."

Dahlia gestured with her hands as she explained, "Well, it's not called _Loveless _on here, and the verses are _very_ different from the version we know of today. Still, the major elements of the epic remain the same. This here is Act I."

"_Infinite in mystery is the Gift of the Goddess,_" Sephiroth recited, sounding bored._ "We seek it thus and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest."_

Dahlia raised a curious eyebrow at him. "That's right. Anyway, here the Ancients have replaced 'water' with 'Lifestream,' implying that perhaps something has disturbed the flow of life."

"And what does this have to do with your search for the Keystone?" he asked her.

Dahlia shrugged. "Nothing so far. I guess my clues led me astray."

"I've told you before, Dahlia. I don't think it exists."

Dahlia stood, looking angry. "And _I've _told you before, it does! How else is one meant to gain access to the Temple of the Ancients?"

Sephiroth crossed his arms. "I was talking about the Black Materia."

Dahlia was momentarily stunned before she began scowling again, miffed as she was about her life's work being doubted. "Let's go before I hurt you." Sephiroth scoffed at her as she turned her back to him, walking away with indignant stomps.

So was the nature of Sephiroth's ex-wife.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I've taken a lot of liberties with Sephiroth this chapter. I hope that they're up to par with his character. Really, the reason for all of this is to fill up the month-long gap between Fort Tamblin and Zack's mission in Banora. I doubt that Sephiroth just sat around, wondering what to do about Genesis and Angeal for four straight weeks. Within the next chapter or two, the story will return to familiar Crisis Core territory.

**Shinz** - Thank you for the first review! I'm glad that you see Sephiroth in character, and I thank you for the much needed feedback. It's always hard to tell when you're treating Jenova's son right or wrong.

I also agree that the painful/torture/Hojo childhood just doesn't sit right with the Sephiroth we see in the compilation. He wouldn't be the confident powerful man-god who summons Meteor, he'd be an angsty tormented weakling shuddering constantly at the thought of needles and syringes. I also intend to explore more of Sephiroth's views of Gast later on.

**P.S.** Can anyone guess who Myrna really is? There might be a prize in it for the right answer. Maybe. I don't know.


	4. Four

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Dahlia froze before the entrance to the Ramuh room, taking in a sharp breath and grasping at the hair on the top of her head. Beyond the doorway the room looked as if it were made purely of electricity and nothing else. The flashes from the lightning were a strobe even against the much larger burial chamber, reminding Sephiroth of the cheesy effects of the Haunted Hotel at Gold Saucer.

"You won't make it," said Sephiroth as he stopped to stand behind her. This time there was simply too much of the electricity to catch a glimpse of Ramuh's apparition.

_He just doesn't intend for us to leave,_ thought Sephiroth.

Dahlia reached into her shoulder bag and produced a notebook, which she pushed into Sephiroth's chest. "Read the second-to-last page." With an extra deliberate shove of the notebook she turned away from the death trap and hurried further into the burial chamber.

The unopened notebook in his hands, Sephiroth glared after her form. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded, his voice echoing across the tomb.

"Upstairs!" she called out, her soprano echoes making his ears ring a little. Dahlia ran past the arrangement of sarcophagi and then ascended a flight of steep steps that took her to the second floor. Sephiroth could only see the top of her head from behind the second floor's banister as she ran it's length around to the side opposite of the stairs, just above where the secret ante-chamber was located. Sephiroth made sure to have it noted on Ment's map as the 'Loveless room,' as it hadn't been illustrated there previously.

"Did you read it yet!?" she shouted, causing Sephiroth to scowl as he opened the notebook and began quickly flipping the pages towards the end. "Come on, you! We don't have all day here!"

Perhaps he _should_ have left her trapped in that room…

Dahlia's desired page turned out to be a diagram of the arrangement of the seven sepulchers. They were positioned with three on each side of the west and east walls, and only one facing the north wall. Dahlia had also copied the Ancient's language and hieroglyphs on each coffin, along with a translation for each. Sephiroth wasn't the least bit surprised to find that each burial was named for a summoning.

Starting on the west wall: Shiva, Ice Empress. Odin, Who Condemns. Ramuh, Thunder Sage. On the east wall: Hades, Judge of the Dead. Alexander, Holy Conqueror. The shattered sarcophagus nearest the Loveless room remained unnamed.

As for the north wall: "The Once and Future King," Sephiroth read out loud. "Which summon does that refer to, Dahlia?"

He heard her sigh audibly. "Knights of the Round!"

Sephiroth approached it. He had never seen Knights of the Round, nor did he know of anyone who had. It was an extremely rare summon materia that was only rumored to exist, supposedly more powerful than the rest. The Once and Future King's grave depicted a carving of a warrior asleep on the sarcophagus' lid. There was sword clutched in his hands, lying across his legs. It was the only part of the image that was highly decorated, the blade pleated in silver and the hilt encrusted with rubies. The Ancient's language was etched on the sword, but Sephiroth knew next to nothing about this particular Cetran legend.

He placed gloved hands upon the lid and pushed.

"No! What the hell are you doing!?"

Sephiroth hissed at the sight. He only opened it a crack, but he could easily see that the Once and Future King's grave sat completely empty with no trace of a body ever being there to decay for two thousand years. Sephiroth regretted ever hoping for the miniscule possibility that the materia could be found inside as well.

Dahlia's light footsteps came pattering down the stairs. Groaning she pushed the lid back into place with some trouble. "These are delicate artifacts, Sephiroth! We have a special process for opening them. Exposing the body to oxygen could cause it to decompose at a much quicker rate!"

Ignoring her, Sephiroth opened Hades'. Before she could scream at him, he announced, "They're empty." Dahlia hurried to his side to see, only to gasp at what he showed her. "All of them."

His ex-wife took a step back, palming her forehead. "I don't understand. Why would anyone make a tomb and not bury someone in it?"

Sephiroth recalled Shiva and Ramuh's apparitions but said nothing of it to her. "Those Who Still Fight…" he murmured. "The summons were never laid to rest. Instead of moving on their souls were absorbed into the Lifestream and became materia."

Her eyes lighting up, Dahlia slapped her fist into her other palm. "Then this is all a distraction! A diversion for what the Cetra _really_ buried here!"

Sephiroth sighed. "Not the Keystone again…"

"But it makes perfect sense! With the presence of the summons as traps, they could protect the Keystone against enemy tribes, such as the early humans or the hated Gi of Cosmo Canyon lore. Come on, look at this!" Without any discretion, Dahlia grabbed Sephiroth's arm and began pulling him towards the stairs. Immediately he freed himself from her grip and coldly brushed past her, up the steps on his own.

She joined him at a large engraving, which was a wall-size diagram of the first floor, much like the one Sephiroth held in Dahlia's notebook. However, the spots for each sepulcher were blank, simple impressions engraved deep into the picture.

"Should items be placed in them?" Sephiroth questioned. They were all about the size of a small brick, but he didn't remember coming across any items in the tomb that would fit inside.

Dahlia came closer to the diagram and then stood on the tips of her toes as she reached a hand out to touch something at the top of the illustration, a long line of hieroglyphs, instructions perhaps.

"…_three will release thee,_" she translated. "_Choose the three_."

Sephiroth stared at the engraving for another long moment. When Dahlia moved to touch one of the empty spots, he caught her wrist, holding her back.

"Don't," said Sephiroth. "Shiva and Ramuh's power were released in the other rooms. We wouldn't want Knights of the Round, would we?"

Her wrist still in his grasp, Dahlia smirked at him. "I thought that the Great Sephiroth would do fine no matter which one we chose."

"You're right," he replied. Sephiroth let her wrist free, her hand falling to her side. "I just can't say how well you'll fare."

Dahlia scowled and immediately touched one. Ramuh's spot. The place where her fingertips brushed emitted a soft green glow, completely filling the miniature version of Ramuh's grave. Sephiroth pulled her away from the wall as the tomb suddenly became dark, the torchlight extinguished by a sudden gust of wind. Dahlia gasped as he shoved her to the floor, forcing her to crouch against the balustrade.

Except for the green glow of the carving, only the electricity from the other room gave light to the tomb, emitting the strobe effects throughout the burial chamber. A sudden explosion of sparks in the middle of the chamber revealed Ramuh's apparition again, only this time his physical appearance was more like the summon Sephiroth was used to seeing from the materia. Ramuh's beard was no longer black, but now gray, and his tired facial features were now exaggerated to appear more wizened and sagely. Whatever human vulnerability Sephiroth glimpsed in Ramuh's room was now gone.

_**You've corrupted the humes with your lifeblood as well. And now they follow your example by consuming the Lifestream for their own ends. It is unfortunate, but in the end, the humes may be extinguished along with you.**_

Sephiroth briefly glanced down at Dahlia, but she gave no indication that she heard Ramuh's voice at all. He shook his head with warning at her as she attempted to peek over the balustrade to catch a glimpse of Ramuh. Dahlia screamed as Ramuh sent a lightning bolt their way, striking and splitting the banister she hid behind. Sephiroth leapt over it as Dahlia crawled away for another spot to hide behind.

Ramuh gave no indication of moving, but the air in between both Sephiroth and the summon was filled with a violent ball of electricity, thrust out towards the approaching SOLDIER 1st class. Sephiroth let himself fall back down to the first floor, where he stood momentarily while bits of blown and charred wall fell around him. The corner of his eye caught Dahlia running down the steps as lightning bolts chased her, where she eventually dove behind one of the summons' graves for cover.

Sephiroth swung the seven-foot long Masamune blade at another lightning attack, discharging it even as he felt the current shake the blade and his connecting hand and forearm. Knowing that his weapon remained undamaged, Sephiroth charged ahead, swiping at the flurry of lightning strikes that came his way, hearing them crash all around the chamber and bringing down more bits of the ancient tomb. He pressed forward towards the summon, and as Ramuh attempted to shield himself, Sephiroth jumped, brining Masamune with him in an upwards strike.

Then as fast as Ramuh's lightning attacks, Sephiroth brought the sword down, then across, left and right and diagonally both ways, making exactly eight slashes that would have left a normal human in pieces. Ramuh was destroyed in an explosion of electric current, pushing Sephiroth back a bit the moment his boots touched the ground. Sparks dissipated into the air, and soon enough he found Dahlia crawling out from behind the sepulcher, her brown hair singed at some of the ends, and the top of her head frizzed up from all of the energy. He noticed finally that she had chosen to hide behind Ramuh's grave.

"Why?" he asked her.

"He wouldn't destroy his own tomb would he?" she replied, dusting herself off. "Even if he doesn't sleep in it…"

Cleaning some dirt and grime off of Masamune, Sephiroth said with an indifferent tone, "You can go choose the second summon if you wish." Truth be told, he hadn't encountered Alexander or Hades in a very long time and was curious to confront them.

Dahlia grinned from ear to ear. "No need!" Quickly she dashed back towards the Ramuh room, which was no longer consumed by the summon's power. All that remained were charred walls that left only portions of ancient drawings and inscriptions dedicated to the Thunder Sage.

"I had assumed that you already dealt with whatever Shiva had done to her room," Dahlia explained. "If so, I didn't see any reason to waste time with three more summons. Defeating Ramuh should have been enough to deactivate his trap and open the way back to the exit. Turns out I was right."

"Clever," Sephiroth admitted, and Dahlia preened a bit. He then led the way through the rooms, and following Ment's map, they took the necessary passages through the tomb towards the exit the map described. There were more floor traps that Sephiroth had to carry Dahlia across to avoid the spikes below, but the two still made it without further trouble to a damaged wall on the north end of the tomb, which opened into a dank cavern partly submerged in knee-deep water they had to push through. Sephiroth followed the light in the distance, and the merest of murmurs coming from those waiting outside for them.

"So how are Angeal and Genesis these days?" Dahlia suddenly asked, her voice an echo in the semi-darkness.

His silence and eventual halt was Sephiroth's only response. He didn't turn to look at her, but already she knew that his expression was hardly a pleased one. Dahlia abruptly stopped, the sloshing of the water instantly stilled.

"Oh hell," she breathed. "What happened?"

Sephiroth continued through the cave without an explanation. As he expected, she hurried after him, demanding that he tell her, but Sephiroth turned a deaf ear to her commands. It was only when they were finally standing in the sunlight that Dahlia shut her mouth, for in the small pond they were surrounded by the rest of the anxious research team.

"You found her!" Myrna splashed through the pond, only to tug and pull and prod at Dahlia, who protested in vain at the overbearing examinations. Questions erupted from everywhere, and soon enough Dahlia Cuddy was out of sight, buried deep in the concerns of her team as they dragged her away back to the campsite.

Sephiroth stayed behind, opting to sit at the shore of the pond to clean and dry and his sword. The small cave entrance across the water gave no indication that it was at all connected to the Tomb of Those Who Still Fight. As the day slowly waned into twilight, Sephiroth sent a message to Lazard.

'_I'm going to pretend that you knew nothing about who was running the excavation team, but you owe me one, _Director_.'_

Lazard responded within minutes. _'Me, owe you? If my memory serves me correctly, you _chose_ this assignment for yourself. If you wanted to know who was at the head of the project, I don't see anything that should have stopped you from asking.'_ Sephiroth could almost imagine Lazard's amused smile, the twinkling of blue eyes behind those reading glasses. _'Give Dahlia my regards.'_

Sephiroth snapped the mobile shut, scowling to himself as he stared angrily at the sand before his feet. It was only when the sun disappeared for good behind the trees that Sephiroth returned to the campsite. The commotion and panic that he saw there earlier was gone, only soft snores drifting out from some of the tent flaps. There were some trailers stationed about, most of them dark save for a few that were alive with workers who would no doubt stay the night to solve the mysteries discovered inside the tomb.

The older man Ment came out of the one of the trailers, mumbling angrily to himself. "Came here to kill ourselves is what we did…" Sephiroth returned the man's short wave with a small nod before entering the trailer. Myrna stopped speaking and turned to look at him once she noticed his presence.

Dahlia rubbed her eyes. She sat at a small eating booth, not unlike the ones used in many diners and restaurants, while Myrna stood over her with a disapproving look. "Sephiroth, I'm not sure if you've met Myrna Wallace. She's come over from Corel to lend a hand."

"We have," Myrna said shortly. "I'm going to head to bed though, before you come up with anymore insane theories."

The tall woman brushed past Sephiroth as she left the trailer, and in response Dahlia sighed in exasperation.

"They all want to know why you're here," she eventually said, "why Shin-Ra sent you instead of someone else. Now they that think its Wutai that's trying to steal from the tomb; that they're planning to take rare materia to use against Shin-Ra."

"The war is over," Sephiroth explained, as a teacher would to an attention-deficient student. "Wutai surrendered a week ago."

Dahlia stretched her arms tiredly over her head. "We're a little out of the loop way out here. News comes every once in a while from people visiting from Cosmo Canyon. That's where we hired most of our team from."

Sephiroth took a moment to look around, noticing the stacks of papers and documents everywhere, hiding a small computer. The soft amber lightning made Dahlia seem more tired-looking as she scrawled away on a notepad. Sephiroth made his way to the small kitchenette to lean against the counter.

"Something must have happened with Genesis and Angeal for you to have come all this way just to bother me," she eventually pointed out, turning in her seat to look at him.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "I didn't come here to bother you. If I had known you were here I wouldn't have come at all."

Looking skeptical, Dahlia replied, "Somehow I doubt that. I requested SOLDIER assistance to find and take care of whoever or whatever keeps messing with the ruins and with my team, and I _know_ that they didn't need to send you. Tell me what happened, Sephiroth."

She got up from her table to stand in front of him, peering up to see the brooding face past the silver strands of hair that hid it. "Was it the war?" she whispered, distress causing her plain brown irises to lighten.

Dahlia flinched as Sephiroth unexpectedly took hold of both her shoulders. He pushed her back away from him, none too harshly. Releasing her he uttered, "A month ago…"

Leaning back against the counter again, Sephiroth explained, "Genesis abandoned SOLDIER a month ago while he was on assignment in Wutai. Many 2nd and 3rd classes went with him to join his cause in rebellion against Shin-Ra."

Shocked and bewildered, Dahlia opened her mouth to speak, but no words formed. "And then last week," Sephiroth added, "as we invaded Fort Tamblin, Angeal defected as well."

"Then what are you still doing here?!" she exclaimed. "Go after them! Find out what the hell their problem is!"

Sephiroth shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's not that simple."

"Yes it is," she insisted with a nod. "You know them best. If there's anyone that can talk to them-,"

"- Or kill them," Sephiroth grimly interjected. Dahlia was unsurprisingly speechless. "It's what the company would eventually want."

"So, knowing that you're caught up in the middle, you decided to come here to kill time while someone else is sent to do the dirty work?" Dahlia's expression was deeply disapproving, ashamed even.

"It isn't… it isn't like that!" Sephiroth groaned. Turning away from her he added, "I'm not obligated to explain myself to you."

Dahlia sputtered, still speechless while angry. "Well, fine! You're right. We haven't spoken in three years anyhow. Do whatever you want." Stomping off back to the booth she began to gather her books and notes, slamming covers closed and shoving items off of the table's surface, making papers scatter all over the ground.

Dahlia gestured to the nearby couch. It too was covered with texts. "Sleep wherever." She then disappeared into a narrow hall in the back of the mobile trailer, and within minutes Sephiroth heard the spray of a shower running.

The next few days were uneventful as far as Sephiroth was concerned. Dahlia Cuddy's team refused to renter the tomb without analyzing every single piece of evidence Dahlia and some of the other researchers had gathered in their notes and photographs. Pieces of the tomb had been salvaged before the traps had been activated, and Myrna Wallace spent her time cleaning such artifacts like pottery shards and figurines. Even with the pair of infantrymen keeping guard, one at the campsite and another at the tomb entrance, the mission was a dull one for the SOLDIER 1st class.

On Day 4 of the assignment, he received another message from Tseng.

_General Sephiroth:_

_We've lost contact with one of the Turks in Banora. The others have begun a search for him in the area surrounding the town, but I'm afraid this will set our progress back a bit._

_- Tseng_

Just as Sephiroth was about to put away his mobile, it chimed, indicating a call.

"_Hey, get your ass down here_!"

"Dahlia," Sephiroth stated impassively, despite her frantic shrill. They were the first words she had spoken to him since the evening he arrived.

"_It's Genesis! He's down here in the Loveless Room, and he's dead_!"

* * *

**Author's Note**: If you haven't guessed Myrna's identity so far, here it is: In the FFVII canon, Myrna is Barret's wife, who of course dies in Scarlet's destruction of Corel. Though she doesn't physically appear in the game, here you get to see a little of what I perceive her to be like. Hopefully I'll be able to develop her a little more in the next update.

**Next chapter**: Sephiroth wraps things up in the Ancient Forest and then heads back to Midgar.

**Shinz - **I'm not too fond of OC's myself, and I'm trying very hard to keep the ex-Mrs. Sephiroth from corrupting the story. I'm not planning on having much romance in this; my intention was to show that Sephiroth as a character is not the "pairing" type, and whatever relationship he's decided to have, whether it be an OC or with a canon character, it wouldn't be happily ever after. Not that Sephiroth isn't capable of compassion for another person (pre-Nibelheim Seph anyway...), as unique an individual he is (and he knows it too), I imagine that it's often hard for him to relate to _anyone, _much less an overbearing wife like Dahlia. Crisis Core shows that only two people came even close to that standard, and they had to prototypes of _him_!

I'm glad that you enjoyed the tomb setting. I had briefly envisioned Sephiroth dressed up like Indiana Jones before writing it! xD


	5. Five

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

* * *

Ment was arguing with her. They always bucked horns, never seeing eye-to-eye, Sephiroth noticed. Perhaps it was a rivalry, a battle of wills between the veteran scholar and the young, ambitious historian that was named project leader instead of the seasoned Ment? Sephiroth had seemed to discern just as much from some of Ment's mannerisms. However, this was no mere dispute about whether or not the diggers should be allowed to trade shifts. Their unyielding wills were coming close to an ultimate, and probably ugly clash.

"Enough is enough, I say. We've already lost enough good people on this cursed trip." Ment met Dahlia's glare without backing down or relenting to her stubbornness. Sephiroth knew first hand that would get the man nowhere.

"We're not leaving," she maintained. "There's still too much to do."

"Don't you care, Dahlia!?" This time it came from Myrna, who stood closest to the dead Genesis copy. Sephiroth had yet to inform his ex-wife that it was not the real Genesis Rhapsodos, as he had only just entered the Loveless Room as they began arguing.

"Of course I do-,"

"No! I mean about us, your team!" Myrna Wallace, even at her full height seemed to grow small with the growing despair. "All you've done is demand results, and as our friends drop dead like flies around us, all you can think about is that stupid Keystone!"

Dahlia opened her mouth to bark back, but Ment put up a hand.

"She's right. I understand what it is to be passionate about the work, about the history… but Dahlia, this is bordering on obsession!" Pointing at her face, Ment added, "Have you looked at yourself lately? You don't sleep more than two or three hours a night, hell knows when you last ate, and even with Sephiroth here, _the_ Sephiroth, you don't seem to understand how serious and dangerous this has all gotten."

"Serious?!" Dahlia cried. Stomping towards the copy, she pointed at the would-be Genesis. "I _knew_ this man! He came here for some reason and died for it! I think that I'm obligated to find out what it is about this place that has made that happen to him!"

Myrna crossed her arms over her chest, hazel eyes narrowing skeptically. "You knew Genesis Rhapsodos." Dahlia scowled at the disbelieving tone. "Genesis, the SOLDIER First Class."

"That isn't Genesis Rhapsodos."

The three of them turned to Sephiroth in shock, finally realizing that he had been with them in the room all along. He walked past Myrna and Dahlia, kneeling before the copy. Like the ones he found back in Wutai, the copy shared Genesis' same features, but this time Sephiroth found himself surprised to see that the clone's hair had been grayed and his face sallow. A ridiculous theory came to his mind; that Genesis' copy had died of old age rather than by the curses and traps laid out in the tomb. He shook that thought immediately.

"So who is he?" asked Myrna, and he could sense that she was feeling secretly satisfied about doubting Dahlia's claimed acquaintance with Genesis.

"That's classified information," Sephiroth said immediately, "reserved only for designated SOLDIER personnel and specially ranked members of the company."

Ment threw up his arms in exasperation. "See? This is bigger than us now. Now the company is going to want in. Didn't I tell you this was all about the Wutaians or something? I knew it the moment Sephiroth first stepped foot here."

Dahlia rolled her eyes up towards the ceiling. "Not everything has to be a conspiracy theory, Ment."

"We walked into more than just a set of Cetran booby traps," Ment claimed. "Wutai wants what's down here, I'm telling you!"

Before she could open her mouth, Sephiroth stood, cutting off any further bickering between them. "That is for the corporation to conclude, not you. From now on this site will be cut off from any of your personnel while Shin-Ra conducts further investigation."

"What!?" Dahlia burst out, just short of screaming her head off at him. "Sephiroth, you can't just-,"

She froze upon receiving the full force of his glare. "The expedition will be postponed until further notice. Now we will return to the campsite to prepare for the return to Cosmo Canyon while I call in for the necessary people."

Myrna sighed in relief. "Thought you would never say it! Thank goodness!"

Ment began to follow her out of the Loveless Room. "Can't thank you enough m'boy. Finally, someone with enough guts to put her in her place."

_Guts have nothing to do with it,_ Sephiroth thought petulantly. _You'd have to have lived with her._

As he expected, Dahlia went off on him the moment they were alone in the Loveless Room. "Well, you win Sephiroth. I hope you're happy now. Why don't you just spend the rest of the time trying to completely ruin my career while you continue to ignore the friends that need you?!"

"Don't start with me, Dahlia!" he barked at her.

"You started with me!" she retorted. "Like always! Here I thought it was over years ago, that we could just leave one another to our own devices and never even have to contemplate the thought of each other ever again, but as usual you prove me wrong. You win the round, and yet it's never enough. You always have to prove that you're better, that you're the one in control even when we're over! I'm not one of your little subordinates Sephiroth. You can't just order me around like some brainless SOLDIER drone!"

Sephiroth whirled about, snarling. "Get it through your thick skull that this is not about you! Believe it or not, there are more important beings in this world that don't have to revolve around you, particularly myself. You think that I care about your little Black Materia mania?" Cruelly he simpered, savoring the slapped-on-the-face look her features took, the stunned and even pained pause. "I could care less. I'm here to finish a job, and if that means decommissioning the project then so be it. Shin-Ra made it clear that they cannot afford to lose any more researchers, but if you want to stay here and die with all your precious rocks and empty graves then be my guest."

He left Dahlia there in the Loveless Room as she no doubt tried to form an argument other than the numerous amounts of curses and insults she no doubt had for him in that fuming little brain of hers. Sephiroth walked off out of the main burial chamber and through the passageways towards the exit, the rush of the familiar conflict with her gradually fading. It felt like old times, when their marriage had become nothing more than a constant power struggle, not unlike the ones she often shared with Ment. Perhaps it was just in her nature to try to control men, Sephiroth wondered bitterly.

Still, with the presence of Genesis' clones, Sephiroth knew he had made the right choice, even if part of it was influenced by his variance with Dahlia. There were bound to be more, and Sephiroth needed to get reinforcements to the tomb site as soon as possible before Genesis had the chance to attack the workers again. The goal that seemed to be the most obvious was the evidence of _Loveless_ having existed during the time of the Cetra, but to what end? What would Sephiroth's old friend have to gain from reading the old epic on a slab of stone other than wasted time?

I come here to give you a chance at survival and yet you show up anyway. Sephiroth shook his head at the audacity of it all. Apparently it was destined for him to confront his friends, no matter what his actions.

Under his boot something crackled softly, and Sephiroth lifted it to find some stray papers. He huffed in annoyance. Probably Dahlia's mess.

Some words popped out at him from the long rows of printed data. _'Rates of Degrading Tissue.'_ Sephiroth bent to pick up the leaves of paper, frowning at the rows of numbers, dates and percentages. There was no existing body tissue in the summons' coffins for Dahlia to carbon-date… As he turned the pages over, Sephiroth's eyes widened. The notes were signed '_Hollander._'

Gunfire suddenly echoed through the corridor, and crunching the papers in his fist, Sephiroth dashed back towards the burial chamber, the murals and busts a blur he did not bother to recognize. Within a matter of seconds he had passed the Shiva room, and in the original entranceway of the tomb he witnessed a half dozen Genesis copies making way through the Ramuh room and into the burial chamber. Sephiroth rushed forward, Masamune's long edge slicing through the backs of the crimson-clad soldiers. They fell in a heap at Ramuh's doorway.

_Copies have nowhere near the vitality of the original,_ Sephiroth concluded as he proceeded into the burial chamber. Four more Genesis copies were firing machine guns at the Once and Future King's coffin, chunks of stone flying off of it as it gradually crumbled. As soon as Sephiroth killed them more copies filled the burial chamber to confront him. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Dahlia dashing from behind her cover and up the stairs towards the second floor.

They surrounded him in a circle and as Sephiroth readied himself to strike, a mechanical whirring filled his ears. A machine that was far too large for the doorway into the chamber crashed through the narrow opening, taking with it whole sections of the ancient wall. Gratingly it rolled forward, brandishing a number of miniature laser cannons and missile launchers. On the very front of the machine's hull the Shin-Ra corporation's logo was displayed.

_So he took more than just the SOLDIERs._

"You're to come with us, General," said Genesis' voice, from the right, though it lacked his friend's charismatic personality completely, the harmonious emphasis Genesis often gave to his words from having cited _Loveless_ frequently.

_He tracked me down?_ Sephiroth wondered. "Why?"

"For extraction," was the clone's only answer, his expression guarded by his helmet like the others.

More Genesis copies followed in after the stolen Shin-Ra weaponry, until it seemed that the entire chamber was filled with them. "No," Sephiroth stated simply. "If Genesis wants a word, he'll have to come to me. Death is his only fate should I go to him."

Sephiroth pulled Masamune towards himself, raising the sword so that the hilt was level with his face. All around him flames swirled until they burst outward in a massive repulsion of Sephiroth's power. Some of the screaming clones flew back from the force, hitting walls while those that had been far enough away to escape damage opened fire on him. The machine launched a missile at him, which he dodged. The Once and Future King's sepulcher was finally blown to irreparable bits.

Then the room went dark as Sephiroth slid Masamune out of a copy's stomach. A deep guttural laughter echoed against the walls while the sound of hooves click-clacked from every direction. There was the shrill neighing of some animal while Sephiroth heard bones crunch loudly. When the flames reignited themselves on the wall scones, an armored man continued to stomp on the body of a Genesis copy from the top of his massive black horse.

_**Your souls are mine to judge, Calamity pawns!**_ Sephiroth looked to the other side of the room, where a dark robed figure reached out with pale hands. The clones nearest to the apparition coughed harshly, until they spit blood out from under their helmets. Another clawed at his own chest, as if some invisible force was squeezing the copy's heart into paste.

The armored horseman galloped at a group, his blade cleaving members in half with one strike. Shin-Ra's machine targeted the summons, Odin and Hades, sending missiles and blasts from the laser cannons that covered the entire room in small explosions. Sephiroth spun with Masamune as he felt a hard tug on his arm.

"Come on!" Dahlia exclaimed, flinching slightly at his raised weapon. "It's open!"

"What is?" he asked, following her out of the chamber. Genesis' copies, distracted as they were by the summons, did not notice their departure.

Passing through the Ramuh room, Dahlia stopped at the tomb's original entranceway, pointing at the exit that had been sealed previously. Beyond the entranceway lay a long stone bridge out into the jungle.

"But how?" he asked her as they hurried for the exit.

"_Three will release thee,_" she recited. Together they stepped out into the daylight. "I chose the three."

"There were only two," he pointed out.

"Yes," she agreed, "and four days ago I chose Ramuh. That makes three."

The bridge spanned high over a large lake, to the left of which roared a waterfall. To their right was the end of the lake as it plunged yet again downwards as a second waterfall. Quickly they ran towards the end of the bridge, but soon afterwards the machine guns were firing once more from behind as the Genesis copies caught up.

Sephiroth turned, spinning Masamune rapidly in front of him as the bullets flew for them. Caught in the motion of the spinning blade they were whirled away, going off as they struck the sides of the bridge. Suddenly a rocket blasted out from inside the tomb, crashing and exploding just in front of Sephiroth.

The bridge shook and began to easily crumble. Sephiroth grabbed Dahlia as the floor gave underneath them, and she screamed as they fell into the lake. The splash stung hard as they landed and the immense current immediately started to pull them towards the next waterfall. Sephiroth kicked hard against it as Dahlia thrashed about in his arms, trying to keep her head above the surface.

As the bullets pierced the water around them from above, Sephiroth ceased the struggle against the current, despite his protesting ex-wife, who attempted to swim against it herself. Grasping her more securely he let the current take them towards the edge, even as Dahlia beat her fists against his shoulder. Within seconds he felt the weightlessness of the long free fall, down into the white foam and spray that hid whether there were sharp rocks at the bottom or not.

Once more their bodies slapped water's surface, turning Sephiroth's vision momentarily white from the pain. The rushing waterfall pushed them downwards into the depths of the lake. In the darkness he could not see Dahlia, and felt his grip on her slipping as she was pulled away by the torrent. He caught her wrist for a moment but then lost her, the shock of it causing him to lose some of the breath he had held in for the plunge.

Sephiroth kicked his legs as hard as he could, reaching his arms out for the hidden surface. He knew not how deep into the water he had been pushed. His leather gear and boots made him heavier, and with some trouble he threw off his black coat, leaving him free to swim up towards the free oxygen.

"Dahlia!" he shouted over the waterfall's roar once he broke through. Sephiroth looked about, seeing no sign of her. Quickly he swam about, submerging more than once to see if he could glimpse her underneath. Finally he found her body at the lake's shore, laying face first in the gray sand. Sephiroth trudged to her form and turned her over. She was unconscious.

"Wake up or I'll leave you here," he muttered, gently shaking her. She had to have been awake long enough to have at least swum to shore. Sephiroth guessed that it was merely exhaustion that caused her to pass out.

Plain brown eyes fluttered open, and for a moment Dahlia smiled up at him contentedly before scowling just as easily once she realized where (and when) she was. Sephiroth sat back on the sand as she sat up to look around at the surrounding jungle.

"So what did he do, clone himself somehow?"

Sephiroth looked over at her and nodded, and while she inevitably and shamelessly stared at his bare chest he noted the circles that were now deeper under her eyes. Ment had been right about her recent habits, as she seemed thinner as well.

"I'm about finished here," he told her, looking away. "I'm going to return to Midgar. You won't have to be 'bothered' by me any longer."

Dahlia squeezed the water out of her drenched hair. "You forget that I still live there, _and_ you've put me out of a job until I can find another place with possible rare materia and artifacts. Besides…"

Sephiroth looked back at her as she stood, dusting off her soaked pants. "Hmm?"

Dahlia kicked off her brown hiking boots and sat back down. "Before the um, clones came, there was someone else. He asked me to lead him to you."

"Who was it?" Sephiroth demanded, looking fierce.

"I didn't recognize him," she replied, "but from what he was wearing, it looked like he worked for the science division."

"Was his name Hollander?"

Dahlia shook her head. "He didn't say. When I refused to show him anything, he left and then the copies came to kill me."

She jumped, startled as Sephiroth set a nearby bush aflame in anger. "Lazard and the President were right. _You_ were right. There was no reason for me to come here." The scorched plant crackled as the flames slowly began to eat it away. "Genesis was banking on the fact that I wouldn't follow the trail to Banora. So instead he chose to attack a place that had nothing to do with him, yet would have attracted him anyway."

Dahlia titled her head, looking puzzled.

"The Tomb of Those Who Still Fight," Sephiroth clarified. "A sanctuary for summons, but also a place where the oldest version of _Loveless_ is now known to be inscribed in certain parts of the ruins. I'm sure there were more secret rooms like one you discovered in the burial chamber."

"So he activated the traps too?" asked Dahlia. "We were too careful with our methods of excavation, so I know it wasn't us. He must have opened a secret room like I had but then set them off by doing so."

Sephiroth didn't respond. He looked abruptly at her as she kneeled beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"If it's worth anything at all to you, I am glad that you came."

Sephiroth made a small huff and avoided her gaze. "You're only admitting that because I'm shirtless now."

Dahlia stood straight again, smiling mischievously. "Maybe." Sephiroth shook his head, smirking. "Anyway, with my team going back to Cosmo Canyon, you wouldn't mind giving me a ride back to Midgar would you? It won't be you that has to explain to the bosses why two-thousand years worth of priceless artifacts were destroyed by one of Shin-Ra's weapons."

"Don't be so sure," Sephiroth answered. "I'm sure the Board of Directors would use that as another excuse for budget cuts on the SOLDIER program. That'll make Lazard real happy."

Sephiroth lost his phone in the water, so their hike back to the campsite was long and arduous without a map or directions. He was surprised to find however that Naomi Posada had returned with the helicopter and was waiting for him with only one of the two infantrymen.

"He radioed in with a distress call," Naomi informed him, gesturing slightly to the infantryman. "When it was reported that you hadn't been seen nor heard from since this morning, I came. The defectors also tried to attack the camp, but we managed to hold them off."

"Where is your partner?" Sephiroth asked the infantryman.

"T-they got him, sir," he said, lowering his head.

"Good work," Sephiroth acknowledged, and Naomi returned it with a small smile and a nod.

Ment and Myrna had made it out safely enough, and in the time that Sephiroth and Dahlia were gone, they had organized the cleanup of most of the team's equipment and belongings. Before long the researchers were well on their way back to Cosmo Canyon with a fairly large Shin-Ra military escort for protection. Sephiroth was silent on the helicopter during its flight back to Midgar, even with Dahlia on board. Fortunately she had been tired enough to fall asleep, so he was spared the difficulties she usually brought with her presence. For that he was grateful, as he needed to concentrate on the next immediate dire concern.

It was time for him to choose the SOLDIER he would send to Banora.


	6. Six

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

* * *

Sephiroth's eyes watched the screen before him. Zack Fair raced forward on the top of a speeding Midgar train, deflecting a whir of bullets that came his way. The training video was dated just before the Fort Tamblin takeover mission. His green eyes narrowed slightly as Angeal came into view, giving Zack brief instructions. The man's lips moved without sound - in fact the entire video lacked audio, as it was difficult to record while trying to capture the intense virtual graphics of the company training room. The viewers, who were usually SOLDIERs watching the videos to recognize their mistakes, often did not mind the inconvenience. Sephiroth on the other hand, was very inconvenienced. The video would be the only proof should Angeal have used the time to convince Zack to ally with Genesis.

He could only just barely read lips, but Sephiroth was certain that nothing concerning Genesis came from Angeal's mouth. His expression was stern, an example of discipline for his rather enthusiastic pupil. Sephiroth guessed, _'…shouldn't have chosen this program. The kid has the attention span of a cactaur.'_ The corner of Sephiroth's lip lifted slightly.

Behind him the door hissed open, but Sephiroth continued to patiently watch the video, his arms folded across his chest. Footsteps clicked softly towards him and then stopped directly behind his chair.

"I thought you were on some kind of business trip," Sephiroth said, not turning around. On the screen Zack vaulted over a group of troops, impressively dodging an explosion from a rocket launcher.

"I was…" replied the familiar drawl of Shinra's only son. "Your return from the Ancient Forest called me back. I invested a lot in that research project you know."

Glaring, Sephiroth turned the chair around to the young man's direction. Rufus Shinra, his stark white suit a polar contrast to Sephiroth's black, seemed to have a permanent sneer set on his young arrogant face. Strands of blond were combed stylishly over his forehead in front of his eyes, icy blue in opposition to Sephiroth's fierce green.

"I had heard somewhere that you were working close with Scarlet from Weapons Development," Sephiroth answered as conversationally as he could. "You expected Dahlia Cuddy to come home bearing gifts didn't you? Materia left behind by the Ancients, perhaps?"

"All gone now, taken by the defectors _you_ allowed to escape." Rufus was frowning now, his displeasure taking over the cool politician's visage he often practiced. "My father had no doubt as to your loyalties, as it was you who condemned Angeal Hewley, but now he's not so sure."

Sephiroth turned to pause the video, freezing it on Zack's triumphant face, for he had made it off the train successfully. Critically he eyed the president's son, the one who would no doubt be named the vice-president of Shin-Ra Electric and Power Company in a few days time. In the face of Rufus' bold accusation, Sephiroth only impassively stared.

"You were expecting this, weren't you?" Rufus muttered, flicking some of the hairs away from his eyes. "Then you've probably already heard that the Board wants to put you under surveillance, and limit some of your privileges."

"If that makes them feel better…" Sephiroth answered, shrugging. He turned back to the computer screen, but Rufus then joined him at his side, sitting on the briefing room's table to look at Sephiroth.

"I told them that would be a pointless gesture," Rufus replied. "It's not as if following him around and ceasing the delivery of his favorite shampoo would make the Great Sephiroth feel threatened." All the while Rufus gestured with his hands as he spoke. "Not Shin-Ra's most powerful weapon, no… I told them that if Sephiroth had the intention to rebel like his friends, he'd have done it by now, and there would be no doubt in _any_ of our minds that he was against us. He'd be an enemy of the world…"

Sephiroth resumed the silent video. "Should I be thanking you?"

Rufus shook his head. "Not at all. I wasn't there to defend you, I was only stating the obvious, what they should have been thinking all along." Rufus then visibly sighed, running a hand through his hair again. "I think it is my father's short-sightedness that prompted Genesis and Angeal to betray us in the first place. I would never have allowed such-,"

Suddenly, Sephiroth started to laugh, Rufus turning a surprised and cautious glance towards him. His mirth, not at all cheerful, was like a slap to young Rufus' face.

"My apologies…" Sephiroth said, his unkind laughter dying down. "It just that I never thought you saw me as a confidant."

"I don't," Rufus insisted. "You seem to have caught me in a rant, however. _My_ apologies then."

Zack ran up a flight of steps. Soon enough he stood in the business district of Sector 1. Everything seemed normal enough, until a giant behemoth materialized into the training room. Sephiroth's hand hovered over a key, ready to end the video, but the playback indicated that the recording wasn't even half way finished. Intrigued, Sephiroth removed his hand from the keyboard and leant back in the chair to watch some more.

"Perhaps you should reconsider your nomination," Rufus suggested, watching the screen as well. Surprisingly, the 2nd Class SOLDIER fared well against the virtual data monster, executing a flurry of attacks with his fists that Sephiroth recognized as one of Angeal's signature moves.

"I am," Sephiroth stated, his words sounding distant to his ears as he watched Zack's battle.

"Not that Naomi Posada wasn't a good choice," Rufus added as he studied his clean fingernails. "But I've never known any SOLDIER who could mimic Angeal like that."

Sephiroth exchanged a brief glance with him. "That may or may not necessarily be a good thing."

Zack performed his little victory fanfare, spinning his sword about around his head. At that Rufus stood from the table, flicking away his hair once more. "It's been a pleasure as always, Sephiroth. I should warn you though… my father doesn't like the idea of sending Zack Fair to Banora, for obvious reasons. You should make your decision soon."

Sephiroth glared at the screen as Rufus departed from the briefing room. They didn't need to remind him… of course Zack's loyalties were in question, but what did they think Sephiroth was doing watching training videos anyhow? It certainly wasn't for his own entertainment.

"Your back is to the enemy…" Sephiroth muttered, and in that instant, the tip of his very own Masamune found the back of Zack's neck. Sephiroth straightened in his chair, surprised by the sudden change in programming. Zack turned to face a virtual copy of Sephiroth himself, who in only seconds broke Zack's blade in half and threw him to the floor. His virtual self stood tall over the exhausted Zack Fair, the thin blade of the Masamune lingering dangerously close to Zack's trachea.

_What is all this, Angeal?_ Sephiroth wondered. _What were you trying to accomplish here?_

The virtual Sephiroth thrust his blade down for the killing blow, but it did not meet flesh. Without the familiar clang of metal, the broken half of Zack's sword met Masamune before it could destroy the young man. Angeal stood hunched over Zack's form, holding the broken sword out to block Masamune's path. The virtual copy did not retaliate. It only stood there, every detail incredibly similar to the real thing, from the strands of silver on its head to the slight scuffing of it's black boots. Angeal studied the program for a moment with an expressionless face before producing his mobile device from his back pocket. As soon as his thumb hit the appropriate button, the recording ceased, turning the screen black.

Sephiroth leaned back in his chair and sighed. Nothing. The video revealed nothing about Angeal's intentions before Fort Tamblin. There was nothing that seemed out of the ordinary about his demeanor either. Annoyed, Sephiroth searched the training room's other files for any other recordings of the same date. To his satisfaction, an audio file came up with a time stamp that indicated it was recorded barely a minute after the training program.

"…_was just getting warmed up!"_ came Zack's indignant voice after some static.

Silence came next, save for some footsteps and the hissing of the training room door. _"Zack…"_ murmured Angeal's tenor tone. _"Embrace your dreams."_

"_Huh?"_

"_If you want to be a hero you need to have dreams… and honor."_

Sephiroth shut off the computer. Nothing out of the ordinary for Angeal Hewley. He himself had received many of Angeal's lectures on subjects such as honor. With the training session dated just one day before the Fort Tamblin mission, it almost seemed absurd that Angeal would discard his pride for SOLDIER at all.

_Something happened after the surrender when the copies arrived,_ Sephiroth realized. _Genesis must have told Angeal something about Shin-Ra or SOLDIER that disturbed him greatly._

They'd seen a lot together, the three of them, enough to be aware that the company they served was far from perfect, but Zack had been right that day in Wutai: Angeal valued his SOLDIER honor above all else, even in the face of some of Shin-Ra's more obvious flaws. The only explanation Sephiroth could establish was that Angeal felt betrayed by SOLDIER somehow and found no reason to stay. Sephiroth felt disillusioned that Angeal couldn't trust him enough to talk about it.

As he habitually made his way through the Shin-Ra building to his private quarters, the disheartenment gradually became resentment. Sephiroth was angry and brooding by the time he reached the right floor, some twenty levels above the SOLDIER level. How _dare_ he not tell Sephiroth anything? What made his two friends think that Sephiroth was not worthy of sharing in on the mysterious awful truth they discovered?

_It's because they don't trust you,_ said some doubtful reasoning in the back of his mind, and then the feeling of bitterness and dejection increased. Any passerby would have concluded that the scowl on his face was for the large bundle of mail he furiously pulled from the box mounted next to his door, as though the Great Sephiroth disliked monthly bills more than anyone.

His nose caught the familiar scent of a recently cleaned room, the strong pine and ammonia-based chemicals, but he did not bother to study the state of his spacious quarters, accustomed as he was to the regularly cleanings made by the company's janitorial staff while he was away on lengthy assignments. There was not much to tell about Sephiroth's living space anyhow, as he barely spent much time in it. Less form than function, it was relatively Spartan in design, lacking any kind of furnishings that took up unnecessary space or served no use to him. The door opened to a modest living room, a charcoal gray couch with no intense or bright colors anywhere else to stand out within the room. A great portion of empty wall space directly across from the door was for a large shelf long ago, but Dahlia had taken that with her when they divorced three years ago, along with most of the books they owned.

The door automatically hissed closed behind him, and Sephiroth passed the empty space to find the nearby table where he tossed the mail. In the bundle was a small cardboard box, heavy enough to harbor either an electronic device or even some new materia. Remembering that the company had commissioned a new phone for him, Sephiroth went about opening the box. Preoccupied with his own thoughts, he had almost forgotten all about it, though it had been a nice reprieve not to hear a single ear-piercing ringtone for the past few days.

It took only a few moments to program the shiny new device, as per the instructions included in the box. Within minutes his message inbox was already filled with all of the calls he missed while his old phone sat at the bottom of the lake he and Dahlia fell into. His coat was down there too, and until it could be replaced Sephiroth had to settle for more casual wear; namely a black sport coat and collared shirt. Sighing, Sephiroth sat on the couch and began the tedious process of deleting the useless messages and catching up on the important ones.

_General Sephiroth:_

_Some of the villagers have reported to have seen Genesis Rhapsodos in the outskirts of the town. However, the sightings have been brief, and the witnesses themselves remain doubtful, making their claims inconclusive. Genesis' parents still insist that they are ignorant as to their son's whereabouts._

_We still have no lead on our agent who has disappeared. The Turks that remain in Banora send me hourly updates and reports. If you need me to relay these to Director Lazard or yourself I will do so._

_- Tseng_

Sephiroth saved Tseng's message and proceeded to the next one, a forwarded message from an anonymous sender, sent to hundreds of employees in the Shin-Ra database. It was not uncommon, but Sephiroth hated the chain letters that claimed if he did not forward it to ten more people he would either be cursed in love or in life.

Sardonically he thought, _Well that's one done already. Let's see about life._ The message read:

Loveless _on stage is as popular as ever. This year's production retains the love story from the female's point of view, with the focus on Acts II and III as usual. Fans of the story can't wait to behold the new interpretation, and critics are giving it widely acclaimed reviews, some calling the love story portion "a different and refreshing take on romance in a classic drama."_

_Pre-order your tickets today and avoid the long lines. VIP guests include Rufus Shinra, up and coming roller coaster tycoon Dio (owner of the infinitely successful Gold Saucer theme park) and long-time fan SOLDIER First Class Genesis Rhapsodos. See you at the premiere!_

Sephiroth deleted the old advertisement, slightly amused by the notion of those who would be awaiting Genesis' arrival at the premiere, when it was probably very likely that he wouldn't be attending. Or perhaps he would, in keeping with his devotion to the play? Sephiroth wondered if Genesis would have the gall… would he attend the play and then proceed to attack Midgar? He resolved himself to letting Lazard know of his friend's possible intentions. After all, he had followed Sephiroth all the way to the Ancient Forest simply because of _Loveless'_ presence in the Tomb of Those Who Still Fight.

_General Sephiroth:_

_I was informed that mobile communication with you would be impossible for the next few days, but for the sake of consistency I will continue to send you reports, forwarding a copy to Director Lazard incase you wanted the reports immediately. Otherwise, I apologize for the backlog of messages._

_We've lost contact with two more Turks. They were last seen investigating the Banora White factory, and considering that it is owned in part by Genesis' family, we have strong reasons to believe that Genesis and the defectors may be using it as a base of operations. Some of the villagers have begun disappearing as well. The President is pushing for a direct assault on Banora unless we can resolve the situation here by the end of this month. To prevent the loss of any more agents, I've pulled out the remaining Turks who were involved in the investigation._

_If you have any suggestions that would prove more efficient than the President's proposal, please do no hesitate to call me._

_- Tseng_

Sephiroth imagined a bomb falling on Gillian Hewley's house, and it was enough to make him reconsider his decision to personally avoid Banora. With urgent speed, his fingers tapped the keys on his new phone, dialing for his contact in the Turks.

"_Tseng here."_

"It's Sephiroth," he replied into the mobile.

"_General,"_ Tseng answered respectfully.

"I received your message a little late. Is there still time to change the situation in Banora?"

There was a moment's pause. _"This morning Genesis' parents disappeared. I contacted Director Lazard and updated him, and he said that he would call you in later today about it."_

"I see." Sephiroth gazed in thought up at the white ceiling. "I'll talk to Lazard now. In the meantime Tseng, call Zack Fair. Send him to the briefing room to see the Director."

"_Will do."_

"And Tseng?"

"_Yes, General?"_

Sephiroth closed his eyes. He didn't want to regret his decision in the morning. "I want you to go with Zack to the village."

Tseng was silent, apparently surprised by the request.

"_You want me to keep him an eye on him,"_ Tseng guessed.

"Find your men, Tseng," Sephiroth said. "Have Zack take care of the rest."

"_I understand."_

At that Sephiroth ended the call. Half an hour later, Zack Fair, while doing squatting exercises in the lobby of the SOLDIER floor, received a phone call from a man he didn't know.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Unfortunately, I've come across a bit of a snag regarding Crisis Core's timeline... there's no real indication as to how much time passes in between Zack's missions, and to make matters more complicated, the time that passes between the first mission in Wutai and the visit to Nibelheim is a whole TWO YEARS! If anyone has any ideas or theories, please, PLEASE let me know!!! I would greatly appreciate the help. I've gone to the forums about it, but so far, no such luck.

Here's the timeline I've come up with so far:

**One month** in between Wutai and Banora missions.

**Unknown** in between Banora and Genesis' first attack on Midgar. (I'm guessing a few days to a few weeks)

**Unknown** in between Banora and Modeoheim

**Unknown** in between Modeoheim and Junon (this is probably the longest gap in between missions)

**Unknown** in between Junon and Nibelheim

**Four years** Zack and Cloud are in Nibelheim

Roughly **one year** to travel from Nibelheim to Midgar (due to being slowed down by the vegetative state Cloud is in, and the stops to Gongaga and Banora)

Basically, I have to account for all of the seven years before the events of Final Fantasy VII, when Crisis Core is known to begin. If Nibelheim happens five years before FFVII, there's a whole two years that aren't accounted for, which gives me a massive headache!!!!


	7. Seven

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

The team charged with cleaning up the mess Shin-Ra's army made in Banora village brought back samples of evidence that proved Genesis' activities within the past month, one of which being a photograph of Gillian Hewley's charred remains after the company's bombs blew the town apart. The image remained burned into the back of Sephiroth's eyelids, going with him to bed a week after the mission. His mind drifted, going through the motions of subconscious thought processes that were so routine for him that Sephiroth was actually aware that he was dreaming.

He sat with Angeal at Gillian's dinner table for the first time – again. However, unlike the actual day, Angeal was brooding, and Gillian was uncomfortably tense, her lined face conveying some anxiety or worry. She did not insist on Sephiroth taking a second serving. In fact, she confiscated his plate and discarded it into the sink when he asked. There were no seconds. The stew sat empty upon the stove, and Gillian remained with her back turned to Sephiroth and her son for a long time.

"Are you ashamed?" Sephiroth found himself asking, to Angeal and Gillian both. Angeal stared at him with empty eyes, somehow colder than Sephiroth's.

"What happened to honor!" Zack Fair demanded, suddenly appearing on the other side of the room. In a second he was gone, and Sephiroth stood in front of President Shinra's desk. The man's body was slumped rather pathetically over the desk's surface, the hilt of Masamune sticking out of the President's back. Sephiroth stared, aware that he was both puzzled and satisfied by what he had done.

_This is not making any sense…_ Knowing that it was all a dream, Sephiroth concentrated, rationalizing his actions. Yes, the man he killed was obviously an impersonator that had attempted to assassinate the real Shinra. Sephiroth was beginning to speculate that Rufus may have had a hand in it, trying to usurp the position from his father…

Sephiroth, now on the roof of the Shin-Ra building, killed two more assassins. One of the Turks, a brunette female he barely recognized, clapped her hands from the sidelines. Professor Hojo stood with her, taking notes on a clipboard.

"Ten points for each, General!" she chimed in, her voice sounding pleasant.

Hojo glanced up briefly from the clipboard, over his rimless glasses. "Her codename is Cissnei, remember?" he reminded.

Sephiroth nodded. "Ah." Cissnei waved at him before suddenly turning and jumping off the roof.

"Going to try to save the President," Hojo remarked, "before you kill him."

"But she'll fall," Sephiroth answered, not bothering to look over the edge to see if the Turk Cissnei had indeed perished.

"Perhaps she has a parachute?" asked the scientist.

"Tseng will find her then," Sephiroth finished as he turned away, dismissing Hojo from his presence. It was no longer nighttime in Midgar, but daylight back in Banora. Sephiroth was sitting at Gillian's table once more, but Angeal wasn't there.

"Gillian?" he asked. Her back was still turned to him.

Something stirred in the air around her form, everything becoming less vivid. Her hair grew longer, the salt-and-peppered black giving way to silvery-white. She seemed pained somehow, weaker. Sephiroth heard sobbing.

"M-Mother?" Sephiroth reached out, but no matter how far he stretched, she only seemed to fade further and further away.

"Just let me hold him!" she screamed in anguish, and Sephiroth recoiled as she swiftly turned around, what should have been silver hair a brown blur, strangely enough. Jenova's face instantly decayed before he could see it, eye sockets empty and bones blackened by fire – a grotesque fate similar to Gillian's. No… the same.

It was all a dream, and there was a thudding noise annoying him. He needed to get up and make it shut up, because he needed to know what happened next. Rufus was plotting a conspiracy and there were still assassins around. Genesis was keeping points against him, but Sephiroth always won eventually. The thudding was insistent, but he could only focus on Gillian and Jenova.

Sephiroth shot up in his bed – _answerdooritsthedoor – _his body drenched in cold sweat. The smoky green hue emitted by the Mako reactors bled through the horizontal blinds of the window, making the darkened bedroom appear noxious somehow. Frustrated by the knocking on his door, Sephiroth threw off the covers and trudged heavily into the living room, the blood reluctantly flowing back into his sleep-numbed legs. Even if it was an emergency outside, it didn't seem like a bad idea to crack a couple of this person's ribs.

Dahlia waited on the other side, and somehow Sephiroth wasn't surprised. Both of their stares were smoldering, Sephiroth's alight with hot Mako and Dahlia's heavy with the shadows under her eyes. In her hands was a stack of folders.

"Hollander is messed up."

The peculiar statement instantly washed the angered expression from his face. "What?" Sephiroth asked, his eyebrows furrowed. Taking clear advantage of his distraction, Dahlia shoved past him and into the apartment where she dumped the files on the coffee table in front of the couch. She sat, immediately sinking into the upholstery with a document in her hands.

"Turn on a light," she commanded. "I have to show you something."

Sephiroth closed the door and with an irritated glare flicked a light on that he had to squint against from the sudden brightness. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"No," she answered truthfully, bending towards the table to flip through some pages. Sephiroth took a reluctant seat next to her, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"You took these from the data rooms," he accused. "When they find the materials missing-,"

"I'll tell them you took them," was her simple reply and Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "It's amazing how little security protects the company's important data at this time… Probably because the _real_ juicy stuff isn't even there, maybe hidden in some more important location."

"More important than Midgar?" Sephiroth replied.

"Maybe Junon," Dahlia suggested.

"What were you going to show me?" asked Sephiroth with a sigh. "I'd like to go back to bed. Can't you show me this in the morning?"

She ignored him, handing him a data sheet. "Here."

Sephiroth stared with heavy eyes at rows and rows of timestamps and subject lines, more than likely for electronic mail. He tried to focus on the tiny print but only found his eyelids falling closed. "I'm not going to read this now," he declared, handing it back to her.

Dahlia scowled and snatched the paper from his fingers. "It was Professor Hollander's, dated back before he abandoned Shin-Ra. He was competing with Hojo for the top position in the Science Department."

"I know that," Sephiroth impatiently said.

"Anyway," she continued, "these messages describe a little of what he was working on at the time, something about organisms and cells that could mimic the exact genetic pattern of other life forms. The company's tax records," she indicated to the thickest stack on the table, "show that the Science Department was approved for funding on a new major project, something that would make a breakthrough in clone technology. Just after Hojo's victory over Hollander, the records indicate that some of the technology went missing, the dates coinciding right with a certain SOLDIER member's disappearance…"

"Genesis!" Sephiroth muttered.

Dahlia nodded. "Yeah. Apparently, the Turks were informed about the stolen technology, and one of their objectives, along with assisting you, was to locate it."

"If Tseng found anything like that in Banora then he neglected to tell me," said Sephiroth.

"Probably under orders not to say anything," Dahlia speculated, "but now it's clear how Genesis was able to copy himself."

"I have to find Hollander." Sephiroth leaned forward on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees in thought.

"Then that was him in the tomb," she announced with certainty. "If I knew then what I know now, you wouldn't have to search for Hollander at all. He would have gone straight to you." Dahlia released a long heavy yawn and stretched her arms, sinking back against the couch. "I wonder though… what did he want you for?"

Sephiroth looked over at her curiously. Dahlia had her eyes closed, also ready to succumb to much-needed sleep. "What prompted you to look into all of this?" he asked.

"I was pissed off," she admitted, not opening her eyes. "I used to get along with Genesis just fine. Sure, I didn't agree with some of his _Loveless _interpretations, but that was trivial. After knowing him for years through you, it shocked me that he could so easily try to take my life without a second thought."

"He killed his parents," Sephiroth said quietly.

Dahlia's eyes snapped open. "It almost seems out of character of him, doesn't it? Then again, we didn't keep in touch often. Angeal was the one who used to write to me every now and then. If Genesis had some secret vendetta lurking in his heart against Shin-Ra, then perhaps he was just hiding it this whole time. He does like to act, after all. It's Angeal that worries me."

"I'm going back to bed," Sephiroth announced. "Thanks for looking into it, Dahlia."

He could feel her eyes on his backside as he retreated back into the bedroom, and he quickly shut the door behind him before he could invent ideas that probably weren't good ones. It was a recipe for disaster, Sephiroth reminded himself, recalling that during the days he and Dahlia were together she would stay up for most of the night, working while he caught up on sleep for the next assignment. They'd be apart for weeks at a time, she on some expedition at the ends of the earth and he cutting through armies in foreign territory.

Four hours later the sun filtered through the Mako smog and illuminated his room. Sephiroth dressed and found Dahlia asleep on the couch in the living room, the papers and data sheets all over the place. Shaking his head he left the apartment and called for an elevator to the 67th floor. There, amongst the humming of cold machinery he found Hojo.

There was never anything remarkable about him. Professor Hojo stood there with a clipboard, looking the same as he had in Sephiroth's dream. For the entirety of Sephiroth's life, the man never changed; long black hair tied in a greasy ponytail with rimless spectacles set under a protruding brow. His lab coat remained stark white at all times, despite the chemicals and fluids he was constantly toying with. Hojo surrounded himself with all kinds of experiments involving Mako and materia so often, that it was amazing he himself didn't bear the mark of SOLDIER yet.

As Sephiroth strode on forward, Hojo looked up from his work and gave him a tight smile. "Ah, you've returned for another debate?" Hojo's voice was high-pitched and a little grainy.

"No," Sephiroth answered, looking down insolently at the scientist. "Tell me about Hollander."

Hojo shrugged. "But you know him as well, don't you? There's not much to tell other than that. Not a creature worth remembering. Not like you."

"Then tell me about the copy technology that was stolen. He was working with it, wasn't he?"

Hojo scowled, pointing his nose up in the air indignantly. "Working with it," he repeated, spatting. "I should have known from the start that the little dreg had been meaning to steal my work."

Sephiroth folded his arms over his chest. "_Your_ work?"

Hojo's eyes bulged and angrily he tossed his clipboard on a nearby workstation. "Who do you think noticed that genetic traits could be copied in the first place? What do you think I do all day here, boy, stand about and doodle on all the printed data? It was _I_ who initiated the project, and it is _I _who has to correct all of Hollander's failed specimens."

"Specimens!" Sephiroth gave a start. "The Genesis copies you mean."

Hojo held up an index finger in correction. "Genesis."

Sephiroth glared. "What have you and Hollander done to him?" he demanded.

Hojo chuckled. "There's no reason to be upset. You noticed it yourself remember? The day the three of you wrecked the training room."

"_Tell_ me what happened," Sephiroth growled. The tinny ring of his phone went off piercingly, and Sephiroth snatched it from his coat pocket. "What?" he answered irritably.

"_Don't 'what' me_," answered the female voice on the other end. "_When you get a chance, you should look up the energy output of the Mako reactors, particularly number 5._" With that she hung up on him, and Sephiroth shoved the mobile back in his pocket.

Hojo removed his glasses to clean them with a handkerchief. "Hollander may have called himself a genius, but he was just a second-rate."

Sephiroth smirked at Hojo cruelly, savoring the abashed look on the scientist's face. "There are those who would say the same of you."

Hojo shook his head in mock reproach. "It's a shame that you have such little faith in me. If only you knew what _I_ know…" he turned his back on Sephiroth, hiding some secret Sephiroth didn't care for, as it was clear that he was going to get no where with Hojo.

"Whatever it is, it's just taken from Gast, I'm sure," Sephiroth decided. "You'd be no where without his fundamental theories."

Hojo turned back around, beaming. "So you _have_ come to debate with me after all!" Hojo clapped his hands together. "Splendid! What should we agree to disagree upon today?"

Sephiroth sighed. Whenever he came across Hojo, that's what the scientist liked to do. He claimed to be 'testing' Sephiroth's intellectual capabilities, and there was nothing more irritating than having to listen to Hojo's half-baked theories and then having to correct them afterwards. Still, Sephiroth had some time now, and he hadn't been able to humiliate Hojo for a while.

"Dahlia Cuddy discovered historical significance to the _Loveless_ epic," Sephiroth began. "According to her translations, there may be ties to the Ancients there."

Hojo waved it off. "Nonsense. That play is no better than a child's fairytale. It means little to us that the Ancients read the story to their children."

"The verses were inscribed in a burial chamber," said Sephiroth. "Obviously it must have some importance to the figures that were entombed there."

"Yes, yes," Hojo quickly replied. "I read her report and translations. Historians think they own all the knowledge in the world, don't they?"

"She makes a valid point," Sephiroth answered.

"You always did take her side," Hojo confirmed. "You still do, don't you? How interesting… worthy of more study even."

Sephiroth took a step forward, his glare bearing down upon Hojo with malice. "And have done to me what you fools have done to Genesis? I think not, _Doctor._"

Hojo took a step back out of self-preservation but then attempted nonchalance with another shrug. "I was merely observing behavioral patterns. I seem to have received the results I predicted."

Sephiroth considered a more direct approach for information on the clone technology and Genesis, 'direct' being with Masamune involved, but he was sure that Hojo would just whine to the President about it; and while Rufus was right about it being difficult to actually threaten him, Sephiroth truly did not want to stop receiving his hygiene products all on account of the nuisance scientist in front of him. There were more important reasons to have minor privileges stripped away.

The SOLDIER First Class turned back towards the elevator. "We'll see," he replied to the head of the Science Division, leaving Hojo on the 67th floor to chuckle to himself.

Lazard called him in just when most of the building was beginning to come alive with hundreds of Shin-Ra employees rushing out of their offices in the evening to return to their homes. The elevators were packed with impatient bureaucrats and researchers, and to avoid the masses Sephiroth took the emergency stairwell once he laid eyes upon the chaotic recreational floor. No one took the stairs, as no one in their right mind or average physical ability could bear the thought of climbing even a fraction of the Shin-Ra building's seventy-some-odd floors to their destination. Sephiroth sometimes preferred it to the elevators, as he could usually run up the steps faster than the elevator could be called without expending much energy. A while ago, he taught Angeal and Genesis his trick, and they would spend some spare time racing up and down the stairs when the training room was occupied. They would even have duels on them when the building was empty enough for no one to notice.

He could hear the angry grunts of Heideggar, head of Shin-Ra's security forces, just outside the SOLDIER Director's office. Heideggar and Lazard often clashed with opposing views on policy, but the rivalry between SOLDIER and Shin-Ra's military police was said to be ages in the making. Sephiroth stepped aside as Heideggar came storming out of Lazard's office, huffing and puffing and looking like a plump chocobo decorated with too many medals. He barely even noticed Sephiroth as he passed.

"Budget meeting gone wrong?" Sephiroth asked as he entered. Lazard straightened his reading glasses and leaned back in his chair.

"That's a pretty good guess," complimented the Director. "He's enraged that we've been approved for more funding, despite the apparent failure in Banora."

Sephiroth opted to lean against one of the workstations to the right side of the room. "I see. What does he want then?"

Lazard sighed, his head hanging low. "The President has given him the go-ahead to initiate a massive man-hunt for Genesis and Angeal. I tried to warn them that it would be a mistake, a repeat of the destruction caused at Banora. They want to shoot first and ask questions later. President Shinra's patience with Genesis and Angeal has run too thin too quickly, I'm afraid."

Sephiroth crossed his arms and looked at the floor. "Damn it," he muttered after a long moment.

Lazard's expression was understanding. "I had hoped that sending Zack again for a more diplomatic approach to the matter would convince them otherwise, but unfortunately there's a unanimous call on the Board for your sword."

Sephiroth fought the frown, forced his face to remain impassive. "I… see." His time to delay had run out. His friends had made their decisions, and now it was time for him to act upon them.

"I really am sorry about this, Sephiroth," Lazard consoled. "Only Reeve Tuesti seemed to share my opinion on the matter, but the other members of the Board care little for what the head of Urban Development has to say on military concerns."

"I need more time," Sephiroth stated, though unnecessarily. "The army won't be able to destroy them, and Genesis' retaliation will surely be a waste of valuable men on our side. There are still Wutaian remnants that need to be dealt with, after all."

Lazard's white-gloved hand touched his chin in thought. "Perhaps… perhaps there is a way to compromise? Make Shinra happy and go after those two, but take Zack with you as well."

Sephiroth looked up, raising a silver eyebrow in slight surprise. "You mean-,"

Lazard looked triumphant. "I'll promote him, and then report that the two SOLDIER First Classes have been sent to assassinate the defectors."

Sephiroth confidently smiled and then pulled out his phone, dialing for the appropriate number.

"_Zack here._" The younger man's voice sounded both dejected and irritated.

"It's been a while, Zack," Sephiroth greeted, his currently better mood enhancing the amiable tone of voice he had been hoping for with the phone call.

"_Sephiroth_?" Zack exclaimed, clearly surprised that the Shin-Ra hero had suddenly called after their very first meeting over a month ago.

"Come to Lazard's room."

"_A-Alright,_" Zack replied. Sephiroth hung up and turned to the computer behind him, ready to access whatever he could on Mako reactor 5.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I've surrendered. Without a Crisis Core Ultimania guide there is no way to tell how much time passes in between missions. Therefore, I've decided to come up with the damn time frames myself! *shakes fist at Square-Enix* If I learn later that it's different, oh well. I'll do my utmost best to make the next _two years_ of Sephiroth's life in accordance with what happens in Crisis Core.

**Shinz** - I had almost forgotten that the norm was to make Sephiroth's apartment black! xD I'm glad you find it all refreshing, and it's a surprise to be reminded that there are certain fanfiction cliches that are still around. One that would irk me would be Sephiroth's black chocobo... would he even own a chocobo??? If I had an army to fly or drive me around wherever I wanted, or a huge wing to fly myself, I certainly wouldn't. Besides, where in Midgar is there even a stable for chocobos? Ha, ha, anyway, enough about that. Glad you enjoyed the chapter!


	8. Eight

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

"What are you looking for?" asked Director Lazard with a mildly curious tone as he glanced up briefly from his work. Sephiroth's eyes were scanning the computer screen determinedly as his gloved fingers clicked commands.

Sephiroth ignored the question. "It isn't printing," he stated, giving the computer a disapproving look.

Lazard leaned forward a bit, trying to get a better look at Sephiroth's screen from his side of the office. "Did you select the correct printer?"

"Yes," replied Sephiroth with a bored sigh.

The other man looked amused. "How many times did you ask it to print?"

"I'm not a child, Lazard," Sephiroth protested through gritted teeth. Harshly his index finger punched a key and then more than a dozen error messages appeared on the screen.

"Is that," Lazard began, leaning forward as far as he could, "the Urban Development database? We've never been restricted from accessing it before."

"Only on this specific Mako reactor," Sephiroth explained. "I can access the others just fine. That's what Dahlia was trying to tell me."

Lazard sat back down in his chair, his blatant amusement grating on Sephiroth's patience. "Dahlia, hmm? You never did tell me how things went with her down at the dig site."

"There's nothing to tell," Sephiroth insisted, not looking at the Director. Finally he was able to access another area on the database and within seconds a stream of white pages fell onto the tray in front of the printer. Sephiroth gathered and attached them to a nearby clipboard.

Lazard turned his chair to face the wall. "Yes, yes, you do enjoy your privacy."

Sephiroth glared pointedly at the back of Lazard's chair, but not without his own amusement tugging at the corners of his lips. "And you enjoy gossip." Lazard couldn't contain the chuckle that burst out as Sephiroth turned his attention back to the data he printed.

Then Zack Fair strode into the room, and Sephiroth briefly glanced up from the report he was reading to notice him. The younger SOLDIER looked back at him curiously as Sephiroth's eyes returned to the clipboard in his hand, a gesture that informed Zack to proceed past him towards the Director's desk. Zack stopped just before it, the back of Lazard's chair still facing the rest of the office.

"Congratulations," said Lazard before spinning the chair about to reveal himself. "As of this moment, you're promoted to SOLDIER First Class."

Sephiroth kept his stare purposely on the clipboard but did not continue to read it. The kid was too quiet. Had Zack Fair been promoted a month ago, he would have started bouncing off the walls.

"Huh…" and it was at this mumble that Sephiroth finally looked up to the conversation. Zack's head was hung low as the young man stared at his gloved hands. "I thought I'd be happier…"

The previously pleasant Lazard immediately slipped into somberness, achieving solemnity far too easily for it to be totally genuine. "Understandable," said Lazard, resting his chin on his hand. "Too much happened too fast." Sephiroth crossed his arms. It didn't show on Lazard's face, but to Sephiroth it was clear that the Director was surprised by Zack's reaction, and therefore had to respond in a manner that would make Zack as comfortable as possible for news he probably wouldn't like.

_This was a mistake,_ Sephiroth realized, staring hard at his feet. The incident in Banora Village affected Sephiroth deeply, and he hadn't even been present for it. They did not bother to take into account that Zack would have been obviously disturbed by it as well.

"Zack," Lazard began again, his tone implying regret, "I'm afraid I need your assistance again."

Sephiroth closed his eyes as Zack turned his head towards him, expecting the words that would come from the 2nd's mouth: "Are you pushing another assignment on me?"

_At least the kid caught on quickly. Tseng must have hinted at it._ With a sigh, Sephiroth looked back at Zack. "My apologies." And he meant it too.

Zack turned away again, "Whatever," being his cold and detached response.

Leaning forward in his seat, Lazard put on an encouraging expression. "Go on ahead to the SOLDIER floor and change into your new uniform Zack, and I'll explain everything. Of course, now that you're a First, you actually have the privilege to wear whatever you wish."

At this, Zack produced a small smile. "That's true, but Angeal wore his uniform. I think I will too." As the new SOLDIER First Class left the room, Sephiroth's shoulders sunk a bit.

"Perhaps this was a mistake," spoke Lazard, echoing Sephiroth's thoughts.

"We have no choice now," Sephiroth replied, picking the clipboard back up from the table he was leaning against.

"This is a risk." Lazard frowned. "Zack may not want to cooperate with the orders, and if the Board realizes it, then they'll never let us go through with it."

Raising an eyebrow, Sephiroth glanced quickly at the Director. "Then let's make him think just that."

Lazard nodded. "I'll leave it to you then, Sephiroth. Any progress on the reactor?"

"Not much," Sephiroth admitted. "She was right about the energy output too. Mako reactor 5 is extracting almost thirty percent more energy than the other Midgar reactors, and the data has determined that the energy is not being distributed through the normal routes. The problem is, I can't seem to find where the Mako is actually going once it's extracted."

"Its certainly suspicious no doubt," Lazard answered, "but I don't see how Genesis could be involved."

"Not Genesis," said Sephiroth, "not directly at least. Hollander. I think that he might have taken the stolen clone technology to the Reactor 5 to produce the Genesis copies, maybe even using the members of SOLDIER that abandoned the company. Have you noticed that we haven't encountered a single one of them?"

"Human experimentation…" Lazard muttered, looking away. "Well, at least you know where to start looking."

"Hm," came Sephiroth's non-committal noise. For the next few minutes he continued to read the report, not looking up when Zack reentered the room, bearing the traditional black uniform of a SOLDIER First Class.

Lazard stood from his chair to acknowledge the still somber Zack. "The company has decided to eliminate Genesis and his cohorts. This includes Angeal as well."

Incredulous, Zack responded: "And you want me to do it?"

"No," Lazard immediately replied. "The Shin-Ra army will handle it."

"What about me?" he exclaimed, stepping forward.

The Director looked back at Zack. "They don't trust you," he stated, making his answer sound brutally honest. Sephiroth set the clipboard down and walked towards the desk, stepping past Zack to stare at a world map on the wall.

"They believe that your emotions will hamper your judgment," Sephiroth explained.

"Well, of course!" Zack retorted, leaning towards Lazard's desk with his head hung low. Looking frustrated, Zack clutched the end of the surface, appearing as conflicted as Sephiroth felt. Sephiroth remained still, despite the fact that he too was slowly loosing his cool.

"That's why I'm going too."

Zack turned in shock, surprised that the other man was even looking at him now. Sephiroth forced his facial expression to remain unaffected. In truth all he really wanted to do was shake the answers from Hollander's hide.

"To _kill_ them?" Zack uttered, looking grave. Sephiroth could not help but smirk, imagining how surprised Zack would look after they finished locating Hollander. Sephiroth decided that they would go immediately to the reactor. What was the point in delaying any further?

An explosion rocked the building, and Lazard stumbled slightly. Sephiroth glared around the room as crimson alarms went flashing and steel shutters fell closed over the office windows. Rage immediately filled Sephiroth. Perfect timing for Shin-Ra as always.

Lazard winced against the piercing wails of the alarms as he quickly glanced at his computer. "An intruder," he announced to them.

"Where?" Zack demanded.

"Close," Lazard replied, glancing at the screen again. "Sephiroth, the president!" Nodding, Sephiroth walked calmly towards the door, rolling his eyes once he faced the other way. "Zack, entrance!"

"Yeah, you got it," Zack promised, running past Sephiroth as he continued to walk. Out in the halls Zack reached the elevator before Sephiroth did, taking it down to the lobby to check the building's main entrance. A mere glance into the other offices showed employees ducking under their desks, as was standard emergency procedure. A mandatory evacuation would be ordered in the event that the building's security could not eliminate the problem. In the back of his mind Sephiroth always felt that was an idiotic procedure, as it would inevitably cost unnecessary casualties. Any kind of explosion should warrant immediate evacuation so that security would not have to worry about possible collateral.

Sephiroth called the elevator back up, sincerely hoping that the intruder was foolish enough to target the president. As he rode the elevator up to highest floor of the Shin-Ra building, Sephiroth anticipated the sweet sound of flesh tearing on his blade… the price to pay for utterly wasting precious time.

_Oh. He lives._ Thought Sephiroth disappointedly as he entered the president's vast office. President Shinra stood in the middle of the room, a lit cigar in hand as he eyed Sephiroth impatiently.

"Took you long enough," muttered Shinra, causing Sephiroth to smirk. No, he had no qualms about taking his time in coming to the president's aid. It was just so regretful that the intruder wasn't there to face him. He so desperately wanted to hit something.

Sephiroth made the mock motions of surveying the room for enemies before approaching the president. "Is your evacuation here?"

Shinra pushed his coat sleeve up his arm to look at his watch. "They're late." Impatiently he chewed at the tip of his cigar while studying the timepiece. "What's all this about, Sephiroth?"

"An intruder, apparently."

President Shinra groaned in frustration, letting his arm fall back to his side as he pulled the cigar out of his mouth. "AVALANCHE." At this, Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you haven't been briefed? They're a new anti-Shinra group. In fact, I'm surprised no one's told you."

Sephiroth shook his head. "It makes little difference to me. There are many groups that oppose the company."

Shinra took a deep inhale from his cigar. The spicy scent flooded Sephiroth's nostrils as the president exhaled it. Sephiroth wrinkled his nose in disgust. The cigar smelled cheap. A president should've known better. "True, but they're not like this one. I'll have the Turks send you the Intel."

_Whatever._ Truly, he really couldn't care less. New terrorist group, old terrorist group; it didn't matter to him. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Eventually Shinra would have him deal with it, as always.

After a few moments of waiting for Shinra's tardy evac chopper, Sephiroth heard some distant gunfire and a few screams, most likely from the employees caught in the middle of it. Immediately he pulled out his phone and punched the keys.

"Where are you right now?" he demanded, pacing away from Shinra.

"_Why?_"

Growling, Sephiroth exclaimed, "Haven't you heard the alarms? Get out now, you idio-,"

"_Calm down! I'm not in the Shin-Ra building! I'm just on my way to Reactor 5._"

With an exasperated sigh, Sephiroth pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't you dare go in there without…" he trailed off as his eyes spotted the helicopter hovering outside with a rope ladder, the propeller blades making a lot of noise.

"_What was that? I can't hear you. What's happening, Sephiroth?_"

Sephiroth roughly grabbed hold of Shinra's arm, ignoring the man's protests as he escorted him out to the balcony of the office. Dahlia's voice over the phone became almost impossible to hear once he was outside. One of the Turks, a blonde female whose name he couldn't remember was piloting the chopper, and soon enough it carried the president safely away from the building.

"_Helloooooo?_"

Sephiroth brought the handset back to his ear. "I'm here."

"_So what's going on?_"

"An intruder," he quickly answered. "Don't worry about it. Listen: stay outside. Don't enter the reactor without me. If Hollander is in there, he may have the clones inside as well. They'll be guarding what he's hiding."

"_Well, I can't go in anyway. My ID is being denied. Yours works, right?_"

Sephiroth entered the elevator again. "I don't know. I was restricted from the Urban Development database. Hollander may have changed the security settings in order to keep Shin-Ra out."

"_All right. I'll wait then._"

Sephiroth hung up, and then the elevator doors hissed open, revealing a trashed lobby. The walls were covered in scorch marks, and parts of the carpeted stairs lay in rubble all over the now grimy marble floors. As he proceeded further into the lobby, Sephiroth caught sight of Zack in a direct confrontation with several Genesis copies, as well as Shin-Ra's security bots, obviously reprogrammed by Hollander to attack Shin-Ra instead of the intruders. There was also the source of the explosion they heard in the beginning, an entire part of the wall blown out to allow Genesis' clones inside.

Zack was finished with them all by the time Sephiroth reached him. Panting, he exclaimed, "Sephiroth! The intruders are Genesis copies!"

"Hollander is the one behind this," Sephiroth informed him, looking around at the broken pieces of metal and the prone bodies of the clones.

"Who in the hell is Hollander?" Zack asked, scratching the back of his head.

"A Shin-Ra scientist who vanished after lifting the copy technology," Sephiroth explained. He peered through the broken wall at the empty Shin-Ra plaza and then Sector 8 beyond it. There was some activity occurring in the city, and it didn't look normal from where he was standing.

"Are you saying that this Hollander guy and Genesis are working together?"

"Perhaps," Sephiroth replied.

"I don't understand any of this. What is it that they're after anyway?" His hands shoved deep into his pockets, Zack kicked aside one of the broken robots, the scrap metal clanging about against rubble.

"Hollander lost his bid for the leadership of the Science Department. He has borne a grudge against Shin-Ra ever since. Revenge is most likely his objective."

Zack snorted. "That's just petty. Are you telling me that Genesis is supporting that idiotic cause? You're kidding, right?"

Sephiroth's stare became distant. "I would prefer not to believe it, but…" The cause was idiotic indeed. Genesis had never cared about anything Hollander did in the past. The man had barely even existed in Genesis' mind. Unless he truly was playing the role of actor, as Dahlia believed, Sephiroth could think of no reason as to why Genesis would support the scientist.

"Then don't," said Zack. Sephiroth looked to him, puzzled. "Don't believe it."

Sephiroth let out a sigh of displeasure. If only it really were that simple. He envied Zack a little for his easily attained convictions. "Very well, I won't. Now, Zack. It's likely that the Genesis copies came from within the city itself. We should investigate."

Together they crossed the plaza and once they reached Sector 8, Sephiroth ordered that they split up to search the area. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Zack running to aid one of the Turks while he himself actually took a path out of the sector. Soon enough he came to Midgar's Central Station, approaching as a train began to slowly depart from the platform, it's wheels grinding piercingly across the tracks. Sephiroth suddenly broke out into a run, and with a single leap landed on top of the moving train.

He dashed across with catlike balance as the train picked up in speed. Like second nature, Sephiroth avoided overhanging beams and signs, ducking and moving fluidly as if he were in tune with the train itself. Up ahead was the highway that the train passed under, and when it approached Sephiroth jumped, practically gliding over the concrete ramp and it's four whole lanes. It did not take long to reach the locomotive, a shiny Shin-Ra model that had recently been released. There he spotted three of the crimson-clad Genesis clones taking control from the engineer. Sephiroth started forward to confront them but then halted, lying flat on his stomach atop of the train car. Better to wait the clones out while they took him straight to where they originated from.

As he expected, the copies stopped the train at Sector 5, and as soon as they stepped off Sephiroth leapt down from the top of the car, a single stroke from Masamune carving into three sets of backs. The masked clones fell almost instantly without so much as even a cry of pain, which made Sephiroth wonder as to their individuality, if they had any. Loathe as he was to admit it, there was much more information he still needed to gather from Hojo about the clone technology.

At the furthest end of the sector was the Mako reactor, surrounded on both sides by construction sites for new office buildings, both of which were blocked off by tall chain link fences. Dahlia stood in front of the one that was best lit, gripping a handgun idly at her right side. Her anxious expression immediately melted into relief as Sephiroth approached.

"When did you get that?" he asked her, nodding in the direction of the firearm.

Dahlia quickly glanced at the weapon with an expression that seemed to suggest that she almost forgot she had it, and then shrugged somewhat ashamedly. "I… from one of the Turks that had originally been sent to the tomb site to help us. He'd been shot down near a quarry where we were trying to dig for alternative entrances into the tomb."

Sephiroth eyed her critically. "Do you even know how to use that?"

Frowning, she replied, "It's not a sword or anything. You point and pull. There's only skill involved when you're far away."

"I wasn't talking about skill. I was talking about shooting your face off when trying to do something as simple as a reload."

Her frown became a scowl, and she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because _you're_ the expert on guns." Scoffing, she added, "My mistake. You're the expert on _everything_."

He smirked. "And don't forget it."

Though Dahlia shook her head in disapproval, he could see that she couldn't help the small smile she was trying to hide. "Anyway, I haven't seen any of the copies yet."

"I encountered a few on the train."

Dahlia placed her unarmed hand on her hip. "They're probably still distracted with attacking the Shin-Ra building. How did that go?"

"Shinra was evacuated, but Genesis and Hollander have also gotten their hands on automated weaponry from the building's security system. They were attacking our own instead of the intruders."

"Speaking of which," said Dahlia. "There's something else you should know about those copies." As Sephiroth's attention became full, she revealed: "Apparently the subjects aren't just limited to the members of SOLDIER. Genesis' genetic traits can be copied onto monsters as well."

Dahlia shrunk a bit as Sephiroth's expression became somewhat alarming in it's ferocity. "How…?" he said slowly.

"Hojo told me," she answered, her voice less secure. "He'll tell you anything if you mention something incorrect about his work." Brown eyebrows furrowing, Dahlia asked, "Are you okay?"

Sephiroth flinched when she stepped forward to peer closer at him, and in response she flinched as well. Immediately Sephiroth tore his gaze away from his ex-wife to glare at thick steel entrance of the Mako reactor. Unlike the construction sites near it, the reactor was enveloped in a smoky green hue, most of which was emitted from the top by the large exhaust channels. Sephiroth glared at it all, but he could not deny the blow he just felt, a heavy feeling of dread he connected with isolation. Suddenly he could barely even register Dahlia's presence, despite her proximity. Sephiroth felt detached and out of place. It was a sensation he was very familiar with.

_What sort of connection is this?_ He wondered. _SOLDIER and monsters…_ Sephiroth's Mako eyes started to burn as his dread mixed with some sort of rage that he could not define.

"You should go home," he stated – more of an order than a suggestion.

He heard her sigh in defeat. "I had a feeling you would eventually say that."

Sephiroth shook his head, along with the isolation. "If I find Genesis inside I'm not sure how he would react. I can't have you in the way."

When she opened her mouth, he expected a retort, but: "Understandable, I suppose. Do me a favor and collect what files you can, alright?"

"I can't make any promises."

Crossing her arms and rolling her eyes, Dahlia drawled, "Oh, believe me, I know that."

The intensity of his glare startled her, to the point where she made the chain link fence rattle as her back touched it. "I know you're annoyed, but inventing flaws in my character will get you nowhere with me. I have never gone back on my word, and you'd be stupid to say so."

Dahlia visibly paled, stung by his harsh response even though she had heard much worse from him in the past. Perhaps it was due to his earlier reaction about the cloning that made her more vulnerable than she usually allowed, but Sephiroth didn't regret his tone either. Worrying her bottom lip, she uttered, "Sorry," almost in whisper, her eyes averted.

Sephiroth turned his back to her and proceeded towards the Mako reactor. "Forget it." After a pause: "I'll call when I'm done here."

* * *

**Author's Note:** It took a while to update this time around, but there was a lot in this chapter I had to throw away and redo. Even now I wonder if Sephiroth is in character. The action starts up in the next chapter, finally, and hopefully (chapter permitting) we'll get to look into a very special memory concerning an incident in the training room... Hope you're still enjoying.


	9. Nine

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

It was Angeal's face.

Sephiroth stood over a creature, it's body motionless on the steel grid walkway above a giant pool of Mako. The bright green liquid sent reflections throughout the inner chamber, emerald fumes rising on all sides as it traveled towards the exhaust exit at the very top. Machines groaned, and though he could feel the vibrations in his feet, Sephiroth could not think on his current location or objective. His friend's face, statuesque in appearance, was on the torso of a common monster, one that was known to occasionally inhabit Mako reactors, as well as dark cold underground areas where Mako energy was abundant.

He was glad Angeal's eyes were closed. The possibility of the monster actually being Angeal brought slight panic to Sephiroth the moment he disposed of it, but he remembered what Dahlia said about the clone technology; the traits could be copied onto monsters as well. Again, disgust filled Sephiroth as he kicked the monster's corpse over the edge of the walkway. There was a splash and a sizzling sound as the thick Mako consumed the creature and Angeal's DNA within.

_SOLDIER and monsters…_ it became a sort of mantra in Sephiroth's head. Those who were accepted into SOLDIER were immediately showered with minimal amounts of Mako to enhance their physical abilities. Sephiroth had seen the process many times before, but had never endured it himself, having already been enhanced for as long as he could remember. However, as far as he knew, Genesis and Angeal had been normal members of SOLDIER, showered like everyone else. What made them special enough in Hollander's eyes to be cloned? Why not some other SOLDIER? What made his friends agree to it?

Frustrated, Sephiroth turned and proceeded down the rest of the walkway. His friends had kept their secrets long enough from him. Sephiroth pulled out his mobile and dialed for Zack.

"Once Sector 8 is clear, come to Mako Reactor 5," he ordered, still walking.

"_Did you find something out?"_ Zack questioned, having sensed the conviction in Sephiroth's tone.

"Angeal has been sighted."

Zack cursed under his breath, displeased. _"So it's search and destroy?"_ he retorted in an accusing manner. Sephiroth frowned, but reminded himself that he had yet to clarify to Zack what his intentions were regarding the assassination assignment.

"The army is mobilizing," Sephiroth admitted, "but there's still time." In the middle of the walkway he stopped. "You and I will find them before they do, and-,"

"_And WHAT!?"_ Zack shouted, causing Sephiroth to grimace as he pulled the phone away from his ear. Dumb kid could even give his ex-wife a run for her money…

"…fail to eliminate them," Sephiroth finished, keeping his tone calm, despite Zack's rather unexpected outburst.

He heard Zack's gasp through the handset. _"For real?"_ Zack replied, his enthusiasm a complete turnaround.

"Heh. Yes, _for real_."

Sephiroth could imagine the grin on the kid's face. _"Excellent!"_ Zack exclaimed, and then in an attempt to maintain professionalism, _"Erm… Probably!"_ Sephiroth hung up at that and then continued onwards towards a door, only to find it locked. A short examination of the reactor revealed several valves and switches below the walkway on other platforms, but he would wait on Zack for that.

He leaned forward on the railway and stared impassively down at the walkways below, as well as the Mako pool at the very bottom. Sephiroth sniffed as he felt the Mako fumes tickle his sinuses, that strange combination of furnace heat and mold. He endured the somewhat uncomfortable settings for the duration it took for Zack to arrive, his noisy entrance attracting more monsters. They sprang from the hidden crannies of the reactor's steelwork.

Sephiroth approached him calmly as Zack made short work of a reptilian spear-wielding creature with a shelled back. It wasn't long before the newly appointed First Class SOLDIER noticed the same thing Sephiroth had. The black-haired sixteen year old hunched over the monster, gaping.

"Is that… Angeal's face?!" Zack blurted. This time the emotionless depiction of the SOLDIER was on the top of the reptile's head, almost ceramic-looking.

Zack looked up in surprise as he noticed Sephiroth's approaching footsteps on the walkway. "It appears Genesis isn't the only one who can be copied," Sephiroth said as he passed the younger man. Eventually he stopped to stare at the walkway in deep thought.

'_You noticed it yourself, remember?'_ Hojo had said, _'the day the three of you wrecked the training room.'_

Sephiroth looked up, his cat-like pupils narrowing in realization. "The company training room…" he murmured. That was the last time the three of them were together before Genesis was sent out to Wutai.

"Hm?" Zack answered as he looked up curiously at his superior.

He looked to Zack, explaining, "We used to sneak in there for fun, when the 2nds were out… Genesis, Angeal and I."

"You guys were pretty tight," Zack acknowledged.

"Humph," Sephiroth responded, his gaze becoming distant with memory. "I wonder…"

* * *

That day they had chosen the Junon Mako cannon as their setting. Everything was replicated with astonishing accuracy. The three of them were not but tiny dots atop of the immense cannon that pointed out towards the endless ocean and flat horizon. There were even weather effects to go with it. Something akin to an ocean breeze flew through Sephiroth's waist-length hair while a late afternoon sun filtered down through the clouds, making the waters below appear like a vast sheet of gleaming glass. Sephiroth watched the horizon with a pleased smile on his face.

"_Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess,_" Genesis recited, his voice full of the silk that would make even the most disciplined of adult minds wander into a dream world. "_We seek it thus, and take to the sky._"

Sephiroth turned away form the ocean to face both of his friends – Angeal, who leaned stoically against a tall machine, and Genesis beside him, who sat atop of it with an ivory-colored book in both of his gloved hands. Angeal, the taller of the two, was dressed in the standard black SOLDIER uniform of a First Class, as always. There was a thin trail of stubble tracing his jaw line up from his ears. His arms were crossed as he contemplated the meaning of Genesis' verse.

Genesis was the opposite in appearance, covered practically head-to-toe in crimson leather, his coat a similar make to Sephiroth's. He was completely clean-shaven, delicate brown bangs framing his youthful face. He stared down at his text with reverence and adoration.

"_Ripples form on the water's surface,_" he continued. "_The wandering soul knows no rest._"

Sephiroth approached and stopped just a few feet before them, a little more than the length of Masamune in his left hand. "LOVELESS," Sephiroth answered. "ACT I."

Genesis shut the book, smirking. "You remembered." He slid off of the machine to stand with Angeal. Both men looked to their superior in anticipation.

"How can I not when you've beaten it into my head?" asked Sephiroth, tapping his right temple. He swiped the air with his sword, and as if on cue, invisible speakers began to play a fast paced waltz for them - a song straight out of the soundtrack for last year's production of _Loveless_. Had they not been focused on their current session, Genesis would have normally taken the opportunity to inform them that it was for the duel scene in the fourth act. He rarely did recite the epic without the musical accompaniment.

Angeal unsheathed a standard issue Shin-Ra army sword while his own massive Buster Sword remained attached to his back. He glanced at Genesis as the red-clad SOLDIER brought his own crimson rapier into _en garde_ position in front of his face. It gleamed against the rays of the simulation sunlight above.

"Don't take Sephiroth lightly," Angeal cautioned him.

"Humph. Noted," replied Genesis.

The two charged at Sephiroth and the duel began with a flurry of parries, Sephiroth effortlessly redirecting every one of his adversaries' attacks. Angeal attacking his back and Genesis his front, the pair seemed to move in theme with the music Genesis had chosen for their fight. As the tempo seemed to increase, so did their pace, as well as their effort. Angeal launched himself up into the air to bring his sword cleaving down. The weapon clashed with the surface of the Mako cannon as Sephiroth leapt easily out of the way. Genesis proceeded with an impressive aerial spinning attack that Sephiroth knocked away with one strike of the Masamune, sending Genesis flying backward.

Angeal rushed for Sephiroth, and then both Masamune and Angeal's borrowed sword locked together in an intense clash. Angeal gritted his teeth as he tried to push against Sephiroth's strength, causing sparks to emit from both scraping blades.

Sephiroth chuckled softly. "Ha! Is that the best you can do?" With one push he sent Angeal sliding back towards Genesis. The _Loveless_ track faded into silence as the song ended. Sephiroth briefly wondered if it was only music from _Loveless _that Genesis brought with him.

"All hail Sephiroth, eh?" Angeal joked, and Sephiroth could not help but grin devilishly.

Genesis held out an arm to block Angeal's way. "Angeal, stay back. I'll take Sephiroth alone," he announced.

"Genesis…!" Angeal uttered, shocked.

Raising his rapier broadsword, Genesis proclaimed, "The world needs a new hero!" As he passed his palm along the flat edge of the blade, the sword lit up as materia would, archaic Cetran symbols illuminating in hot white. It was a weapon of the Ancients, Sephiroth remembered, given to Genesis by Sephiroth's ex-wife when she first dug it up in a ruin during the beginning of her career. Genesis carried it ever since.

Still, some old trinket wouldn't be nearly enough to stop him. "Humph. Come and try," Sephiroth challenged with a smirk.

"So smug…" Genesis replied, "but for how long?"

Genesis dashed forward, a red and black blur, raising his ignited weapon and striking down with enough force to dent the metal under Sephiroth's feet. The Rapier's blow onto Masamune forced the gathered energy to explode outwards, but Sephiroth did not budge or recoil as he stood his ground. They exchanged various swordplay assaults, Sephiroth vaguely aware of the heavy metal now emitting from the hidden speakers. He braced the dull end of Masamune on his free forearm as Genesis tried another power attack, uttering a soft "tch," as the ignited Rapier connected harshly with his sword. Sephiroth pushed the arm supporting his blade forward, and thus Genesis was propelled up into the air. Sephiroth leapt upwards after him, content to finally drop the boring defensive.

He hadn't really noticed how high up they were until he saw the cannon far below looking something like a toy model. For a while they exchanged aerial strikes, and it wasn't until Genesis began to fall freely back down that he began to charge up a spell from his equipped materia. A volley of flames shot out towards Sephiroth, several of which he sliced cleanly away while the others missed and flew passed him. However, he caught the look of intense concentration on Genesis' face, and sliced through the air again as Genesis guided the fire missiles that originally missed back around towards Sephiroth again. Sephiroth cut through a couple but it was too late to stop them all. The flames combined and engulfed him, the heat blocking his view of Genesis and everything else.

"Haaaaa…." Genesis began, charging up the finishing spell that would make the trap explode.

"Stop!" Sephiroth heard Angeal shout. "You're going to destroy the entire building!"

"That's no way to talk to a hero!" Genesis exclaimed. A second later, Sephiroth heard Angeal scream through an explosion.

_Enough of this immaturity, Genesis,_ Sephiroth thought angrily. He pushed forward with Masamune, bursting through the wall of fire. Such was the force of his escape that a cut of pure energy from his sword flew towards the unexpecting Genesis. The Rapier blocked the force that would have otherwise cleaved Genesis in two, the remaining power slicing straight through the cannon like a kitchen knife through fruit. Sephiroth landed on the falling piece of the cannon, watching Genesis critically as he gradually descended towards the ocean.

_This is what you've provoked:_

The heavy metal unexpectedly changed to a glorious symphony Sephiroth was not familiar with as he zoomed forward, slicing and dicing with Masamune quickly enough to instantly throw more pieces of the Mako cannon into the air. He appeared before Genesis who could do nothing more than leap back with every reach that Masamune made for him, the nearly seven-foot long katana carving more segments out of the cannon, all of which crashed into the waters below as Sephiroth continued with his onslaught.

_**Estuans interius**_

_**Ira vehementi**_

_**Estuans interius**_

_**Ira vehementi**_

_**Sephiroth!**_

As he and Genesis danced with their swords, Sephiroth registered the strange music and it's mention of him. It was in a language he had never heard before, and as he redirected Genesis' next attack, he briefly wondered where the younger First Class had acquired the music from. There was no time to ask him, of course, as Genesis recharged his Cetran sword met Sephiroth's blade, causing another clash of energy and power that only further debilitated the Mako cannon.

_Forget the music, who cares-,_ Sephiroth thrust Masamune's point at Genesis and he flipped backwards to avoid it. Sephiroth's opponent slid his palm across the sword once more to awaken the power belonging to the Ancients.

"Enough!" shouted Angeal, suddenly appearing to block Rapier with the borrowed sword. Sephiroth's counterattack landed on Angeal's back, clanging with the rarely used Buster Sword's width. The black haired man stood in between them, holding back two relentless forces that would have otherwise destroyed him completely had he not been at their level of combat.

"Angeal…" Sephiroth frowned. He was willing to conclude the duel for him, but he was sure Genesis was still hell-bent on stripping Sephiroth's title from him.

"Out of my way!" Genesis commanded, confirming Sephiroth's thoughts. Materia energy enveloped Genesis' left hand, and as it struck Angeal's borrowed sword, the much weaker blade gave way and snapped, the broken piece spinning before it struck Genesis' left shoulder. He cried out in pain and stumbled back before collapsing onto one knee.

"Genesis!" Angeal exclaimed, his voice filled with concern. In an instant the scenery shuddered and disappeared, the Junon training simulation nothing more than a virtual memory. The odd but magnificent music that had been playing before instantly shut off, as a female mechanical voice informed all on the SOLDIER floor that the training room was critically damaged. Broken circuits in the walls flashed numerous sparks, and the system quickly resorted to emergency power to bring a miniscule amount of light back into the training room.

Genesis breathed heavily as he slowly got back to his feet. "Just a scrape," he told them, ignoring the disbelief on Angeal's face. "I'll be fine, don't worry." He picked up Rapier from the group while holding his bleeding shoulder with the other. Sephiroth eyed him seriously as Genesis walked past them towards the door.

"_Even if the morrow is barren of promises,_" Genesis recited, "_nothing shall forestall my return._"

* * *

"So, was everything alright?" Zack asked him.

"Yes," Sephiroth answered, "as far as Genesis was concerned." He and Zack were looking over opposite railways, their backs turned to one another as Sephiroth told him the story. "But, as for Angeal…"

"Angeal?" Zack questioned, turning around to look at him. "What happened?"

Sephiroth chuckled in amusement, remembering it quite clearly. "Later, I received one of his famous lectures."

"About what?" Zack asked apprehensively.

"Always the same," Sephiroth remarked, shaking his head slightly. "Discipline, dreams, honor, et cetera…"

Zack laughed softly to himself, as if trying to share in the amusement. "Ah, one of those, huh?"

Sephiroth exhaled deeply and walked away from Zack to study the Angeal clone again. The answers were finally starting to come together, at least. That day in the training room had started it all.

"So it's true," Sephiroth confirmed. "They're in league with Hollander."

"How could this happen?" Zack sighed.

They were almost there. Sephiroth ordered Zack to the lower walkways of the Mako reactor to turn the necessary valves and activate the all the right switches. The locked door Sephiroth had been eyeing hissed open for them, revealing a storage area beyond it.

"I'll go first," Sephiroth told him, stepping through. Inside it was normal enough, save the papers and lab equipment strewn about. Also worthy of notice was the human sized Mako container in the corner of the room, the bright green liquid illuminating from the lone observation window.

_Well, that explains where the reactor's energy is being sent to_… Sephiroth approached the workstation beside it, picking up a clipboard. Highlighted was the title, _Project G_. Sephiroth glanced in astonishment back to the Mako containment tube, catching the outline of a human being.

"What is all of this?" Zack wondered out loud, looking down as he accidentally crushed a stack of papers with his foot.

"The research Hollander took with him when he left the company," Sephiroth explained. Gesturing to the Mako container, he said, "My guess is that over there is also part of the stolen clone technology. Hollander has been supplying Genesis with loyal troops right under our noses."

"Using _our_ men," Zack added, clenching his fists. "You think maybe those SOLDIER's didn't defect at all? Maybe they were kidnapped!"

Sephiroth shrugged. "Either way it doesn't matter. Whether they were willing to or not, those that left with Genesis became his obedient carbon copies." He looked back down at the Project G report, finding the dates mentioned to coincide right around Genesis' birthdate.

"I don't get it," Zack admitted. "What does this have to do with what happened in the training room all those months ago?"

Sephiroth closed his eyes, remembering. "The wound was superficial, but for some reason Genesis wasn't healing. The man who treated him was… _Hollander_." Zack looked to him in surprise.

'_Professor Hollander,'_ Angeal called. He and Sephiroth had waited for hours that day for news on Genesis' condition. _'How is Genesis?'_

Hollander answered with his deep tenor voice: _'The problem is the Mako energy that seeped in through the wound.'_

'_Is it treatable?' _Angeal asked.

'_First he'll need a transfusion,'_ replied the scientist. Sephiroth immediately stepped forward, but Angeal held him back with his arm, volunteering as well. Hollander immediately turned to Sephiroth, shaking his head. _'You aren't viable.'_ He turned away from Sephiroth without another word, Angeal following the scientist inside.

Opening his eyes, Sephiroth sighed, looking around at the storage room's walls, at the present instead of the past. _Why couldn't I be the donor?_ Sephiroth wondered. It had bothered him for weeks, and he didn't hear from Genesis again until word was spread that he went missing in action during his assignment in Wutai.

"Search the room thoroughly for any vital reports," Sephiroth commanded. Pouting slightly, Zack turned to a thick binder he found and slumped his shoulders as he forced himself to read through the confusing data.

_A SOLDIER Type G…?_ Sephiroth glanced once more at the Mako tube. Suddenly the puzzle fixed itself in his mind. The report said it all. Hollander had subjected Genesis to human experimentation when he was a child, automatically making him a prime candidate for SOLDIER. However, there were repercussions, dire consequences for Hollander's desperation to beat Hojo to the punch as Head Researcher.

"Ugh…" Zack ground, slouching against the workstation as he tried to keep his eyes focused on the data.

Sephiroth lowered the Project G report. "It was Hollander's experiment," he informed him. "The result was a normal child, which meant he failed."

Zack impatiently flipped through the pages of the three-ring binder. "Yours obviously says a lot more than mine. These are just a bunch of random numbers…" Zack stared curiously at another sheet he picked up, but then tossed it aside.

"Project G gave birth to the man we know as Genesis," Sephiroth explained.

"Project G…" Zack repeated.

"_Project Genesis_." Sephiroth set the data aside. "Contrary to this report, Genesis showed clear signs of change…" As was evident the day of the training room incident.

"Degrading?"

"Not only that," Sephiroth replied.

"Copies…?" Zack questioned.

Sephiroth approached the Mako tube and glared at the slumbering Genesis clone inside. "Abominations…" he hissed. Hollander had subjected Genesis to a horrible destiny… to learn that not only was he not human, he was also a failure.

Approaching footsteps caught Sephiroth's attention. "S-Sephiroth!?"

"Hollander," Sephiroth answered, turning away from the container. "I thought I'd find you here." He immediately approached the scientist with every intention to make him beg for his life for what he'd done to Genesis.

"The degradation process," Hollander began. "Only I can stop it."

_That won't save you,_ Sephiroth thought, proceeding forward. Suddenly something swooped down to land in between the two of them. His eyes widened at the sight of Genesis for the first time in months. Astonishingly enough, a single black-feathered wing had sprouted out of Genesis' left shoulder blade. Sephiroth glowered as Genesis pointed the tip of Rapier at Sephiroth's face.

"Genesis!"

The ex-SOLDIER glared back at him. "You won't take Hollander."

The scientist began to retreat, and Sephiroth glanced back at Zack. "Go after Hollander!" he ordered, and immediately the sixteen-year-old acquiesced, chasing the man up a set of stairs to some other section of the reactor.

As soon as the two were out of sight, Genesis lowered his weapon. "_There is no hate,_" he began, walking past Sephiroth, "_only joy. For you are beloved by the goddess. Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds._"

"LOVELESS again?" Sephiroth asked, not looking at him. "You never change."

"Three heroes go into battle," Genesis explained. "One is captured, one flies away. The one that is left becomes a hero."

Sephiroth shook his head. "A common story."

"If _we_ were to enact it," Genesis suggested, "would I be the one to play the hero, or would you?"

Sephiroth turned to look at him. "It's all yours," he immediately offered.

"Indeed," said Genesis. "After all, your glory should have been mine."

"How petty," Sephiroth scowled. Where would Sephiroth be now had Hollander's experiment succeeded? He had no use for the fame Genesis seemed to covet all of those years – it brought him nothing. In fact, being the exceptional SOLDIER he was, knowing that no other warrior could defeat him… Sephiroth knew it was pointless to keep continuing with it, but SOLDIER was the only life he knew.

"In hindsight perhaps," replied Genesis to his comment. Raising his arm up towards the ceiling, he announced, "Now, what I want most is the 'gift of the goddess.'"

Sephiroth glared but did not react to Genesis' challenging smirk. "You're deteriorating, Genesis. All Hollander wants from you is personal gain. He won't fix you."

Genesis lowered his arm. "You never did have much faith in scientists."

"Only one," Sephiroth replied.

Genesis chuckled. "Ah, that's right. Whatever did happen to poor old Professor Gast, anyhow?" At Sephiroth's silence, he said, "You see, he left Shin-Ra too, never to be heard from again."

Sephiroth tensed at the mention of his old mentor, pronounced dead before Sephiroth was even aware he had left the company as well as the intense competition with the other scientists.

"I said the same to Angeal: Shin-Ra uses us. Not just SOLDIER, _everyone_. My friend, how can you continue to serve them, knowing that they consider your power mere property?" Genesis asked. "Together, we could fix it all, make them pay for their crimes - for their arrogance!"

Sephiroth scowled. "I won't be a pawn of Hollander's." With that he turned away from the other man, taking the Project G report from the worktable before taking leave towards the exit.

"So you'll be a pawn of Shin-Ra!" Genesis shouted after him. "Fated to have your destiny decided for you!"

Sephiroth halted before the door, struck by Genesis' words. After a long pause, Sephiroth left the storage room, not once looking back at his would-be rival.

* * *

**Author's Note: **One element of the training room scene I really did not want to leave out was the music, as you can obviously see. One-Winged Angel is as vital to the telling of FF7's story as all of the other elements of the plot. When I played Crisis Core the first time, I fell in love with the way Seph's theme was suddenly implemented when he started going all out on Genesis in the duel. Call me crazy, but I always thought it would be unfair for him if in the entire course of his life Sephiroth never got the chance to listen to One-Winged Angel.

**Shinz** - Glad you found him in character in the last chapter. I was really worried about that one.


	10. Ten

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Ten

* * *

**

Finding Genesis did not improve anything. Sephiroth felt more conflicted than ever, knowing now the reason behind his friend's betrayal of the company, and displeased with the choices presented to him. He could remain with Shin-Ra, and eventually be forced to kill both Genesis and Angeal, or he could join their cause, and take the world from the president.

The image that sprang up in his mind was more than a little disconcerting. Sephiroth, at the head of the most powerful organization in the world, the planet his. Something about that seemed right, as foreign as the idea was to him, yet he did not feel attracted to it. Even if he were to desire such a thing, there would inevitably be a struggle for power against his two friends. Genesis always desired what Sephiroth had, and Angeal…

_What would Angeal do with the world?_ He wondered. Sephiroth had yet to discover why Angeal was siding with Genesis and Hollander. If he was merely supporting his friend's cause out of loyalty then perhaps Angeal's definition of SOLDIER honor wasn't as strong as he liked everyone to believe. Even so, however, Sephiroth couldn't imagine him on a political battlefield. For that matter, he could scarcely imagine himself there.

"Where are you, Angeal?" he muttered to himself as he stepped out onto the silent street in front of the Mako reactor. Genesis had not pursued him, but Sephiroth had no doubt that he would eventually reappear again to antagonize Shin-Ra. Propellers beating against the wind thudded in his ears, and Sephiroth looked up to see a Shin-Ra helicopter lowering onto the street, replacing the silence with an immeasurable amount of noise.

Naomi Posada hopped out of the pilot's chair and pushed the chopper's door open. "General!" she shouted over the beating of the propeller blades. Her shoulder-length black hair whipped all about her head, as Sephiroth's own mane simply trailed behind him.

"Posada," he said as he approached. "What are you doing here?"

"I was en route to Midgar from assignment in Junon when I received orders from the President himself to provide you with transport back to the Shin-Ra building," she explained. "His orders are for you to present yourself immediately to the Board of Directors."

Sephiroth frowned. "Fine." He followed her into the helicopter, opting to sit in the co-pilot's seat as the female Second Class maneuvered it back into the sky. They flew high enough above the streets and highways that they were level with the green smog spewing from all eight of Midgar's Mako reactors. Only the Shin-Ra building stood higher.

"How did you know to find me in Sector 5?" Sephiroth asked her, raising his voice so that she could hear him over the helicopter's noise.

"Director Lazard suggested it," she answered. Naomi pushed the joystick forward and the helicopter came ever closer to the skyscraper. "He said that you were searching for the defectors." Naomi's face flickered with worry and apprehension before she set it back to solely concentrating on her task of piloting.

"Is something the matter, Posada?" asked Sephiroth.

She shook her head slightly as the helicopter titled upwards in its gradual ascent to the Shin-Ra building's 75th floor. "If I may ask, General… did you find Angeal Hewley?"

"No," Sephiroth answered. "Genesis and his men escaped before I could reach them." It was of course, a lie, but Sephiroth figured he might as well get used to saying it, as President Shinra would probably demand a report on the matter.

The woman released a tension Sephiroth had not noticed previously and nodded. "I see." Naomi failed miserably at hiding her relief from him, but Sephiroth did not comment on the matter. "I heard Zack was promoted," she suddenly said, cheerfully changing the subject.

Sephiroth stared ahead at the Shin-Ra building, at the rows of windows that fell beneath them as the helicopter kept rising. "Yes, he was."

"I'm happy for him," she admitted. In a more serious tone, she added, "Sir, I never got the chance to thank you for nominating me for First. Even though I didn't win, I'm honored that it came from you."

Sephiroth closed his eyes. He nominated her mostly because he did not want to risk Zack joining Genesis as a First Class. Now he had no doubt that Zack's only intention was to bring Angeal back to SOLDIER's ranks. Still, Naomi did have the skill to deserve promotion. She was far more mature than Zack, and usually levelheaded when situations became unpredictable. Zack had her bested in swordplay of course, but Sephiroth could easily imagine her commanding an army in the future. To be at First Class status demanded leadership over the militia during most assignments. Sephiroth wondered if Zack could handle it.

"You're a good SOLDIER, Posada," Sephiroth told her sincerely. "You'll undoubtedly make First regardless."

Unaccustomed as most people were to rare compliments given by Sephiroth, Naomi shifted in her seat and nodded, muttering, "Thank you, sir."

The top of the Shin-Ra Building came equipped with a helicopter pad, used mostly by the President and other executives who were constantly traveling back and forth during business trips. Naomi smoothly landed the helicopter on the pad and bade Sephiroth a small salute as he exited. The landing platform had a lift that automatically lowered Sephiroth into the 70th floor, where President Shinra's office was located, as well as the conference room and the offices of some of the departmental heads. Sephiroth's subconscious led him to the conference room without him really thinking about it, his thoughts still preoccupied with the dilemma presented to him by Genesis.

Most of the seats were already filled, the head of the conference table by the president himself. Shinra was chewing anxiously on a cigar, his furrowed blonde eyebrows causing the lines on his forehead to appear deeper than usual. Brushing some imaginary dust off of his wine-colored suit, the president motioned to Sephiroth to stand at the opposite end of the table, where no chair was provided. Lazard Deusericus looked up from the left side of the table, nodding to Sephiroth. Sephiroth nodded back in greeting, but for the most part, Lazard put on a careful expression meant to show that he was as oblivious of Sephiroth's recent activities as the others were.

To Lazard's left sat the head of Weapons Development, Scarlet. She was an attractive woman who wore her platinum blonde hair up in a French twist with her long bangs swept stylishly to one side of her face. Nothing about her at first glance suggested that she was the department head of anything in the corporation, but Sephiroth knew first hand the potential ruthlessness Scarlet was capable of, all hidden behind a pretty face and flattering low-necked dress. She gave him a knowing smile as his gaze fell on her, and he failed in pretending to ignore her.

On Lazard's other side was Reeve Tuesti, the head of Urban Development. He wore a tailored indigo suit and a thin moustache and goatee. Straightening the papers before him, he gave Sephiroth a curious glance before exchanging a look with the man to his immediate right, Palmer. The thickset balding man in his cream-colored suit was the director of the Space Program, and for the moment he seemed pleased with himself, possibly due to the recent successful test results he achieved in Rocket Town in the past few weeks.

On the other side of the table sat the rest of the Board. Sitting closest to Shinra was the new vice-president of course, Rufus. He smirked at Sephiroth upon entry and ran a hand through his hair. Next to him was Heideggar, head of Public Safety. He cleared his throat loudly before scratching his heavy beard. The man to his left shifted uncomfortably in his chair but then straightened his black tie in a dignified manner. This was Verdot, the head of the Department of Administrative Research, otherwise known as the Turks. He was a middle-aged man who bore a thin scar on his cheek, and did not appear to be pleased with Sephiroth's presence for some reason or other. The chair beside his sat empty.

"This is an emergency meeting being held due to the recent attack we've sustained by the traitor, Genesis Rhapsodos," Shinra immediately announced, skipping any kind of pleasantries or usual business banters. He set his cigar into an astray and leaned forward, studying Sephiroth with a stern expression. _'You better have some good news,'_ it seemed to say. Sephiroth couldn't wait to disappoint him.

The door behind him opened and in walked Professor Hojo to take his seat as the head of the Science Department. Sephiroth glared at him as the scientist sat, straightening his spectacles before regarding Sephiroth was amused glance.

"If anyone has information regarding our current status, now is the time," said Shinra. He looked first to his right, at Scarlet.

She cleared her throat and announced, "All of the available anti-SOLDIER units have been sent out to confront the traitors. Thirty units have been reported destroyed by Genesis troops. The other twenty-seven have not reported back with any data."

"It's possible that they've stolen them," Verdot theorized, sounding grave. "Just like the other weapons that attacked this building."

"Then future efforts made by the Turks will be focused primarily on retrieving the lost or stolen units," Shinra declared. Verdot nodded in response, but still seemed agitated.

"The damage done to headquarters is estimated at 560,000 gil," Reeve stated, looking down at his reference sheet. "Damage to Sector 8 was minimal, thanks to preventative measures made by the Turks and SOLDIER."

"_And _Shin-Ra Security Forces!" Heideggar added, looking indignant.

Reeve frowned slightly. "Yes…" he replied. "Well, most of the destruction did not spread past the main lobby, so the repairs should take at the very least three months."

"Three months," the president repeated. Reeve nodded and looked away as President Shinra scowled. He then turned his glare to the unfazed Professor Hojo, inquiring, "What of the specimens that were released during the attack?"

Hojo shrugged. "An unfortunate loss of data. Before I could properly record their actions or behavior some SOLDIER or other destroyed them. It will take me years to replicate the losses."

_Zack…_ Sephiroth thought. _He must have encountered them on the way to the lobby._ Hojo's laboratories were nowhere near the building's entrance, so Sephiroth doubted that Genesis had anything to do with the monsters' release.

The banter continued. "So you've sustained how many losses, Heideggar?" Shinra asked. Sephiroth ignored Heideggar's response, how the department head tried to make it seem as if the losses in military police were hardly enough to worry about. There was a brief dispute over the matter between Heideggar and Scarlet, but the argument was really no different from ones they had in the past. Despite the frequent clashes between the department heads, Weapons Development and Public Safety were often forced to work closely with one another, especially during emergencies.

Rufus lost his patience with Scarlet and Heideggar before even Sephiroth could. "If you don't mind, I'd like to spend this meeting hearing about what Sephiroth has to say on the matter, rather than another lover's spat between you two."

"Lover's spat?!" Heideggar exclaimed.

Scarlet scoffed and waved dismissively at the table. "Go on, then."

"Lazard here says you left during the attack to eliminate Genesis," said the president.

"I did," Sephiroth answered.

"Well, what happened!" Shinra demanded.

Sephiroth stoically closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "It appears he had time to plan his escape while I was ensuring your safety, Mr. President."

Lazard's jaw dropped slightly, but he recovered quickly, readjusting his reading glasses. Hojo chuckled in amusement from his corner of the table, breaking the stunned silence of the other department heads.

"I chased him to Mako reactor 5, and there I found evidence of his association with Professor Hollander," said Sephiroth. "They were however, no where to be found."

Shinra suffocated his cigar into the astray, pounding the tobacco anxiously in the cup. "Professor Hojo will lead an investigation team into the reactor, aided by the Turks. Bring back this evidence as well as our clone technology. In the meantime, all other departments will focus on reinforcing this building's defenses in anticipation for another attack."

"And the other sectors…?" Reeve asked.

"Headquarters is the priority," Shinra answered, causing Reeve to look down at the table in dismay. "You're dismissed, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth stared for a moment as the president continued his emergency meeting, each of the directors giving their input on what should be included in the building's fortification. From that point on, he was invisible to them, or at least, that was the impression the Board tried to convey. Only Verdot looked back at Sephiroth, disappointed still with his presence, and suddenly Sephiroth understood why. The head of the Turks did not appreciate what happened to his agents at Banora in Genesis' hands, and they had been sent there by Sephiroth. He supposed that Verdot felt the attack on the building and the Turks casualties could have been prevented had Sephiroth just gone to Banora himself when he had been asked to.

_Hmph._ Sephiroth left the conference room in a whirl of black and silver. The Turks knew the risks when they joined Shin-Ra. There was nothing Sephiroth felt he should apologize for, nor feel sorry about. Once he was out in the corridors, Sephiroth's phone chimed only once, indicating a new message. Sephiroth pulled it out and flipped it open, immediately coming to a halt once his eyes found the text.

_I need to talk to you. The alley next to Goblin's Bar. I'll be alone._

_- Angeal_

By the time Sephiroth reached Sector 8, there were tiny signs of daylight filtering through the thick smog clouds above Midgar. Out in the sea of gray dirt surrounding the city, daybreak would be easy to witness, but in Midgar it would remain dark for at least another two hours or so. The bartender kicked his most dedicated regulars to the curb, and the two men shuffled tiredly back to their homes as Sephiroth passed Goblin's Bar.

He stood at the very foot of the alley, staring into the darkness ahead. A pair of Mako eyes opened and peered back at him, blue orbs in a pool of blackness. Angeal Hewley stepped out towards Sephiroth. The Buster Sword as always was on the man's back, but it was with a start that Sephiroth noticed the large singular wing protruding from out of his friend's shoulder blade. It gleamed white even in the pre-dawn, opposite of the black inky feathers he'd seen on Genesis earlier.

It took a moment for Sephiroth to clear the surprise from his face. His lips grew into a thin grim line as he muttered, "I see. You didn't know the day of Genesis' injury in the training room, when Hollander asked for your blood and not mine, but when Genesis found you at Fort Tamblin."

Angeal's gaze was downcast. There was more stubble on his face than he usually allowed but it did not make him look dirty and unwashed, only tired. "I had a chance to find answers. They went up in smoke when Shin-Ra destroyed my hometown."

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Sephiroth replied. "Hollander has the answers. He was behind Project G, and only he knows the details of your role in it and why. He and Hojo."

Finally his friend looked at him, his blue eyes narrowing. "I came to tell you. Genesis will finish what he started. Hollander has asked him to find Hojo. He probably means to kill him."

Sephiroth let the smirk creep across his face. "Let him."

Angeal could only barely smile at Sephiroth's antics. "What do you want from this, Sephiroth?"

His smirk faded. "I was going to ask you the same. For Genesis this is clearly about revenge. Is that why you're helping him? Reckoning for how they've wronged the both of you with their reckless experimentation?"

"I… thought that was what I had wanted." Sephiroth watched emotionlessly as Angeal's guard slowly slipped away. For his best friend he was ready to feel pity, but he felt nothing, and he didn't know whether or not that should bother him. "Now I'm not so sure. We've been made into these monsters, and all I want… I just want it all to end."

Sephiroth rushed forward, his gloved fingers clenched around Angeal's throat as he shoved the other man against the brick wall. "And Gillian!" Sephiroth snarled. "You decided that it should end for her too, the very same way Genesis had done for his parents!" Gillian flashed before his memory, but all Sephiroth could see was Jenova, a woman with hair as silver as his own, her green eyes full of pain.

Angeal did not fight back, only struggled to speak against the constraint on his throat. "I did not kill my mother!" He tried to gasp as Sephiroth squeezed. "She took her own life!"

Though there was something satisfying about the sensation of his fingertips digging into Angeal's trachea, Sephiroth let go of him with an extra shove. "Because she had a hand in your creation by Shin-Ra," Sephiroth guessed, "and she couldn't take the guilt that came from seeing the abomination her son had become."

Angeal solemly nodded as Sephiroth leaned against the wall across from him. "If nothing else, I must continue on and end the suffering, for her sake. Retribution, revenge, call it what you want, Sephiroth. But what will _you_ do?"

Sephiroth stared at him, silent because he did not have an answer. It was as if he were merely an object floating along in the space of the growing conflict. All around him things were changing in Midgar, in Shin-Ra. The world was moving ahead and he was staying still. Every party involved relied on his participation – Shin-Ra needed protection, and Genesis wanted his power – but Sephiroth merely existed in the middle, realizing that with every minute that passed, that he cared less and less for this tiny world's people and their little problems.

"You don't have any personal stake in this, Sephiroth," Angeal explained. "I don't know why Genesis doesn't see it – hell, maybe he just chooses not to? For years you've been drifting away from it all, little by little. You're losing touch, Sephiroth. You don't know what to do because there is nothing for you to do, except the orders you're used to carrying out."

"And if you and Genesis succeed," Sephiroth answered, "what will you do then? Drift along with me?"

Angeal's smile was somber. "We're monsters, him and I. Even if you don't do it, we'll both eventually be slain. That's what happens to the monsters in stories. All of them."

Then Angeal took off into the air, the flapping of his one wing leaving several feathers to fall around Sephiroth. He watched Angeal disappear into the distance as morning slowly crept through the dark clouds, and Sephiroth remained that way in the alley's opening for a while until the street eventually awoke with the opening of local businesses and shops. There was no way Sephiroth could stay still for very long out in Midgar without a group clamoring for some kind of attention, and all he wanted now was enough solitude to think. His feet carried him back to Shin-Ra headquarters, up the many flights of stairs so he'd have more time to himself rather than in a packed elevator, and onto the 62nd floor, where the records and data rooms were located.

It was usually quiet there, but somewhere in one of the rooms Sephiroth could hear Mayor Domino arguing with someone over the phone. Having a mayor was more like a tradition rather than a necessity. When Midgar was first being built nearly a century ago, the early settlers voted on having both a mayor and a sheriff, as the lands back then were lawless and were subject to any number of raids by thieves and gun slinging outlaws. When the first of Shinra's line appeared to make oil and coal obsolete, Midgar witnessed a boom in both population and economy. Shin-Ra Electric Power Company took it upon itself to provide the city with protection, and over the years the mayor and sheriff became decorations rather than public servants. Mayor Domino and Sheriff Hart were more like librarians, keeping reluctant watch over the company's historical and fiscal documents.

They were used to his presence in the data rooms by now as well. Sephiroth passed the open door to Domino's office, barely sparing the gaunt man a glance as President Shinra's nephew argued with his cousin over the phone. He could almost hear Rufus' snide remarks, amusement at his family's expense. Domino slammed the headset on the receiver and fumed, possibly noticing Sephiroth as he passed, but knowing better than to engage him in conversation. The mayor knew well that Sephiroth preferred the quiet in the data rooms as he spent hours looking over whatever it was the general deemed was more important than people.

When Sephiroth entered the room he wanted, he paused, closing his eyes with a sigh. He could feel her look of disapproval on him, but it was little compared to the flare of annoyance he felt building up in his chest. She made it a habit to spend time in the data rooms as well, and it was amazing that in the three years that they hadn't spoken they'd never met in them. Or perhaps they had, but the call of black text on bleach white sheets made them both blind and deaf to any possible awareness of the other's proximity.

"I forgot to take the files," he admitted, finally choosing to move closer to the table. Dahlia sat at the opposite end, her immediate space covered with photocopies of tomb walls and an old textbook from her early days of study filled with glyphs. He immediately remembered watching her struggle with them as she sat cross-legged on a floor in Cosmo Canyon. Come to think of it, that was probably where she spent most of the last three years.

"Project G?" she questioned, her eyes falling back down to her work as she continued to write. Sephiroth gave her a puzzled look as he sat, and then she promptly pulled a few sheets from her bag to toss in front of him. "It's not the complete version, Hojo kept those for himself. These I managed to make copies of before they restricted access to them."

Sephiroth took the sheets in his gloved fingers, briefly imagining Dahlia sneaking about the labs and looking over her shoulder in a paranoid manner as she waited in front of a loud copy machine. He still wasn't sure how she managed to get away with most of document theft she committed.

"Genesis was there."

Dahlia let the pencil fall from her hand and shifted forward in her seat. "So what happened?"

Sephiroth flipped to the next page of the report, already familiar with the details on the first. The second page contained some more details on the rate of degrading tissue not only on Genesis, but of the clones as well. "He wants me to join his cause."

She shrugged. "No doubt. And with how quickly he's apparently been degrading…" Sephiroth's ex-wife shuddered, disgust crossing her plain features. "I still can't believe he would even side with Hollander, knowing that he was behind the experimentation on his body in the first place."

He clutched the report, the papers wrinkling under the force. "Genesis is a fool."

She peeked over at his hands. "Have you gotten to the part about his parentage yet? That's where my copy of the report ends, but Eva Rhapsodos apparently signed an agreement to use her fetus in the experiment."

Sephiroth furrowed his eyebrows at her. "She did this willingly?" Dropping the report he stood to look over one of the nearest shelves. Within moments he produced a thick black binder and sat back down to study it.

"It's all part of the early stages of SOLDIER," Dahlia explained. "Before it was what it is today, Shinra hoped to provide protection to cities using more than just average troops. I guess even the positive physical enhancements that came from exposure to Mako radiation wasn't enough for the company. Genesis was supposed to be part of some revolutionary new breakthrough in genetic engineering."

"Angeal as well," Sephiroth replied, leaving Dahlia stunned.

"You… saw him?"

Sephiroth nodded. "I have to find out how Hollander involved him in the project. He and Genesis grew up in Banora, and they're around the same age. I think Gillian might have also volunteered to use her unborn son the same way Eva did, but to what ends, I wonder?"

Dahlia left him to contemplate that on his own while she continued with her previous work, a translation of runes and occasionally a sloppy sketch of a map of the Icicle continent. She had aerial photographs of the region around Bone Village, but Sephiroth did not question it, nor did he show interest in what she hoped to discover. Instead he studied the records he pulled from the shelf, the company's spending in Banora Village in the past twenty years. It was not a simple task, and within a few hours, he had a stack of binders and folders piled high next to him. Somewhere within that time period he vaguely perceived Dahlia leaving the room, claiming she needed to catch up on sleep. Sephiroth didn't even notice that she was gone until he finally found what he was looking for.

"The Rhapsodos'-," he began, registering that Dahlia no longer occupied the space next to him. Sephiroth pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing away sleep he had also lost the night prior.

He gathered the records and arranged them on the shelf where he took them from, sparing Domino and Hart the task of doing so themselves. It was barely three in the afternoon by the time he reached his apartment within the Shin-Ra building. Sliding the blinds in his bedroom shut to block out the sunlight, Sephiroth sunk into his mattress, recalling the sum of money that went into Banora all those years ago through the Science Department's budget.

The company had rewarded Eva Rhapsodos and her husband a significant fortune in return for the minor inconvenience of placing a curse on their son, Genesis.

Finally, Sephiroth understood why his friend had murdered his own parents. Aware of his own nature, Sephiroth was convinced that he would have done the same.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yeah, I was gone for a while... my deepest apologies. Unfortunately writer's block attacked me and wouldn't let me go unless I suffocated. Thankfully I was able to pry it's tentacles off of my neck before it could lay any offspring inside of my host-body, therefore stopping it from spawning any more bouts of writer's block or spreading an epidemic. I hope no one else was afflicted...

Anyway, I've decided to keep a record of sorts on how the progress of chapters is going. If you don't hear from me for a while, find the link to my livejournal on my profile. There'll be extended author's notes when chapters are updated as well as any new ideas I might have that you might want to promptly shoot down if they sound too crazy!


	11. Eleven

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

* * *

_General Sephiroth:_

_Zack Fair was spotted in the slums. He seems to be without physical injuries._

_- Tseng_

Sephiroth squinted at the bright screen of his phone, the darkness of his bedroom only intensifying the painful illumination. Flipping it closed, he let his eyes take comfort in the dark again as he stared at the ceiling, the burning in the back of his eyeballs subsiding only minimally. His fingers lost the phone somewhere in the sheets, but Sephiroth allowed himself to forget the device as he switched to laying on his side to face the wall instead of the window blinds. As he did so, the pressure that had been forming in the back of his skull immediately drained into his throbbing left temple.

Shutting his eyes, he silently cursed the Turk for waking him. Actually, he had never specified to Tseng when his assignment of keeping an eye on the young SOLDIER would end, but currently all Sephiroth cared about was catching up on the sleep he lost since spending all that time in the data rooms. Inevitably, his thoughts returned to what he had learned there, his imagination conjuring an image of Eva Rhapsodos clutching greedily at a pile of gil. Sephiroth opened his eyes to glare daggers into the blank wall.

_Genesis can do whatever the hell he wants with Shin-Ra,_ Sephiroth bitterly thought as he shifted in his bed once again to make himself comfortable enough to sleep. Something gnawing at the inner linings of his stomach, Sephiroth threw the bed sheets aside and sat up with a growl, hearing the cell phone thud as it fell to the carpeted floor. Sephiroth attempted to snort away the grogginess he only just realized he had, his air passages clearing after a moment, leaving only heaviness in his brain.

Sephiroth peered through the window blinds. Green light slipped through the spaces instead of the sunlight he'd fallen asleep with. Out in the distance he caught the inactive Mako reactor 5, temporarily shut down for the impending investigation. There had still been no word as to Hollander's whereabouts, and if Zack was reported to be seen in the slums, then it was safe to assume that the young swordsman was continuing his search for him there. Sephiroth let the blinds fall closed and dressed before dragging himself to the kitchen. Within minutes a slab of meat was sizzling on a skillet, its aroma the first pleasant sensation since having been awoken by Tseng's message. Sephiroth pushed the steak about with a fork, easily put to boredom by the tedious but necessary process of cooking.

Sephiroth's ears picked up the whirring of helicopter blades close to the building when he was finally at the table with his dinner. White light flooded through the cracks of the blinds, and Sephiroth glowered as it shined in his face, the fork barely inches from his lips. The insides of his mouth salivated for that split second before glass exploded around him, a mass falling before him and completely collapsing the table.

Sephiroth leapt out of his chair, rolling back behind the kitchen counter as the grating sound of the helicopter's machine gun tore through the apartment. Plaster fell around him in flakes and chunks, into his hair. He looked to his right hand, realizing he still held onto the fork, and seeing the plaster flakes all over the piece of meat caused his stomach to growl painfully. The proverbial bull saw red.

The pieces of the ruined table scraped against the tiled floor as the mass moved to stand. Sephiroth, only barely registering that it was a Genesis copy that had landed in the apartment, shoved the blade of Masamune through the intruder's gut. The machine gun fire immediately ceased, the helicopter pilot realizing the form of the new silhouette standing within the blinding beam of the helicopter's search light. Sephiroth turned and glared at the Shin-Ra helicopter, and then off it went, disappearing around the other side of the building. He momentarily regretted not damaging it with materia before it could leave, the pathetic-looking state of his living area reminding him that the pilot had been responsible for most of the damage. The window could easily be fixed, but the bullets had literally ripped everything else apart, his only living space.

Sephiroth stood seething for several minutes before the building's alarms actually started blaring, finally alerting the hundreds of employees inside that it was necessary to evacuate. He left the apartment shaking his head in astonishment. So much for readying headquarters for another attack…

This time around, Sephiroth avoided the stairs completely, knowing that it was one of the default evacuation routes. Though the elevators weren't out of commission, they were empty, as the company's standard emergency procedures discouraged Shin-Ra employees from using the elevators in the event of an evacuation. That left Sephiroth free to use them in peace for once, and he rode it to the SOLDIER floor without any issue.

What will _you_ do? Angeal had asked him. Sephiroth considered his friend's words as he calmly addressed the damage done by the Genesis copies; the shattered windows, scorched walls and wounded 2nd and 3rd classes lying about. Right about now Sephiroth would be receiving the call to protect the president, but he had left the phone back in his quarters and would not be there to receive it. The thought pleased Sephiroth perhaps more than it should have. After all, no matter how Sephiroth tried to avoid it, Angeal was right. Why should _he_ have to answer for the company's crimes? Monthly wages and shampoo? It was almost an insult to his abilities as a warrior.

For that matter, what did he owe to Genesis that obligated Sephiroth into aiding him? Nothing. Genesis Rhapsodos took Sephiroth's friendship for granted the day he decided to desert SOLDIER without a word to anyone. If Genesis sought vengeance against Shin-Ra, then he should work for it himself.

Sephiroth had an idea. It wasn't much of one, but it was something to work with until he decided what he would eventually do about the dilemma. He would follow his instinct and nothing else, see where that would take him. Abandon the internal debating and simply _do_.

Now was the perfect time to start, he decided. He was aggravated, enraged that Genesis' new attack had ruined his meal time, so instead of going to President Shinra, as the usual policy would dictate, Sephiroth took to doing what he had been dying to do since being woken.

Masamune was red with Genesis' blood by the end of the hour. His friend's clones littered the floor, deserters of SOLDIER finally back home and reunited with the men that they betrayed. Sephiroth took the elevator to Lazard's office, but found the room empty, strangely. It was one of the only floors not yet affected by the attack and yet the director found the need to evacuate immediately with the others? Sephiroth approached Lazard's desk with a frown, finding that to be a little unlike the director.

Sephiroth picked up the office phone, not dialing until he located the employee directory in Lazard's computer. There was no answer as he called for Lazard himself, only the automated voice that inquired if he should like to leave a message. The second person he dialed for yielded far better results.

"Zack. Head for the Shin-Ra building now," he commanded. "Genesis has attacked us."

When he left the office, the floor was finally alive with opportunity. The one-winged copies of Genesis were drawn to Sephiroth like moths to a flame, half a dozen deserters of SOLDIER hoping to ambush him. The attempt was laughable. Though he proceeded to the higher floors to engage the others, following his instincts and whims rather than protocol, something about it wasn't satisfying him. Sephiroth, as he evaded a clone's blade and shot a debilitating fire spell at it, realized that he hadn't received stimulation in a conflict since his duel with Genesis all those months ago, and to even call _that_ stimulation was a bit of a stretch.

Sephiroth turned, hearing the flapping of wings, ready to destroy the incoming Genesis copy before it could reach the broken window. He paused, glimpsing a familiar white wing in the distance instead of the usual black. Angeal swept through into the office corridor, Zack of all people in his arms as he entered. They landed before Sephiroth, Zack stumbling and nearly falling while Angeal landed as gracefully as ever.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Zack said, running a hand through his spiky black hair.

Sephiroth glared at the both of them. "You're late."

Angeal turned towards him, a familiar glint in his blue eyes. "Sephiroth, have you lost weight?" he joked.

He said nothing to other man in response. A bad joke was usually Angeal's way of breaking the ice, but if he felt the need to atone for his sins and help SOLDIER oppose Genesis, then he didn't owe Sephiroth an explanation or an announcement that he was doing so. Sephiroth felt the pull in his stomach and scowled, Angeal's words only further reminding him of the ill fate of his dinner.

Angeal shifted uncomfortably before lifting a thoughtful hand to his chin. "Onto business, then. It is safe to assume that Hollander has ordered Genesis to eliminate Hojo."

"Hojo?" Zack questioned. "The Director of the Science Department? Why?"

"He believes Hojo robbed him of his rightful position," Angeal explained.

"Then they'll be targeting the laboratories upstairs," Zack replied, his tone lined with urgency.

Sephiroth pushed past the both of them, towards the elevator. "Forget about Hojo," he harshly cut in.

He could feel their questioning eyes on him as he walked away. "You're in your usual mood, I see," Angeal casually observed. "Take the floors below and I'll handle things outside."

Angeal gave his orders to Zack and then Sephiroth stopped listening, entering the elevator and taking it downstairs to the main lobby. Gunfire filled the air rather than the pre-recorded female advertising Shin-Ra's latest automobiles and personal handhelds. As Sephiroth approached the balustrade to observe the lobby below, he recognized an all-too familiar voice screeching her disappointment.

"Ugh! Useless!" Scarlet, her blonde hair in disarray and pulled out of its neat twist, threw a remote control device at her feet in frustration. A Genesis copy finished demolishing the last of the half-a-dozen or so anti-SOLDIER mechanized units dispatched to defend the lobby, and then set its sights on Scarlet. All the Weapons Development head could do was fire her handgun in vain, the copy effortlessly evading the shots as several more of it's identical kind joined the conflict, flying in through the entrance that had yet to be repaired from the last attack.

The woman stumbled back in her high heeled shoes, recklessly firing the weapon until it clicked empty. A blade came rushing down at her and Scarlet shut her eyes just as Masamune's edge met her enemy. Sephiroth, in an instant, allowed his sword to devour the crimson-clad soldiers, bringing silence to the lobby as the clones joined the pile of wrecked machinery and downed Shin-Ra security forces.

Scarlet opened a cautious eye and then immediately smiled, taking the hand Sephiroth offered to help her stand. "My hero…" she purred, immediately clinging to his arm.

"You tried taking them on alone?" Sephiroth asked, flicking his wrist once to throw the blood off of the long katana. "Was that meant to be courage on your part, Scarlet, or should I start questioning your intelligence?"

Scarlet rolled her indigo eyes a little and adjusted her dress, Sephiroth taking special note of the tear of fabric along her left thigh. "As if any form of bravery would be enough to actually impress you," she scoffed.

"So what happened then?"

Scarlet closed her eyes and he could see the thin vein beginning to pulse just near her temple as she forced herself not to lose her cool in front of the general. "Heideggar was just so certain he could get the jump on Genesis. I told him, and told him, and told him that we needed all the men we could get to protect headquarters in case of another attack, just as the president said. Of course, he never listens to me! Everything with that worthless little man has to be a pissing contest!"

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Sephiroth replied. Leave it to Heideggar to seek glory and praise while Scarlet was left alone to defend the building with what little weapons she had left.

"Not that I'm ungrateful for the help, handsome, but shouldn't you be with the president right now?"

Sephiroth smirked at her. "Oh, that's right. I _should_ be, shouldn't I?"

Scarlet sauntered closer to him, giggling softly. "That's all right. I know you were busy. Say, let's go find him together and I'll be the witness to your alibi."

Sephiroth raised a silver eyebrow as she reached up to entwine her arms around the back of his neck. "What's the catch?"

"You know, the usual," she answered, running her long fingernails pleasantly against his skin. "A dinner here, some company there… it's just that it's going to be soooo stressful for me the next few days while we're trying to fix everything up." She added a little pout for emphasis, but there was no need – Sephiroth was already sold.

"Sounds fair to me." Sephiroth could use the distraction while he thought about what to do next. Plus, Scarlet was easy to please and they were both usually satisfied by the time she inevitable began to irritate him. Sephiroth never usually had to deal with the overly ambitious blonde for more than one week at a time.

The evacuation alarms went silent by the time he and Scarlet reported to the irate president. Zack reported in sometime later, fresh from a conflict against a summon Genesis used to ensure yet another escape, and it was shortly after that when the rest of the attacks on the Shin-Ra building ceased. Sephiroth's brief liaison with Scarlet was a useful distraction in the days that followed, the entirety of Shin-Ra literally in a panic and rush to fix everything Genesis' forces destroyed.

In the week that followed, Sephiroth was temporarily relocated to a hotel room in Junon while his living quarters in Midgar were being repaired. That, and President Shinra was to be making a series of speeches for both the civilians and the military forces. What Sephiroth had hoped would be a quiet week for him to think, however, was thrown out the window a day of one the speeches. Sephiroth found himself facing a would-be assassin as the president's panicked audience watched. Frankly, Sephiroth was just shocked that it wasn't Genesis.

As he had calmly moved past a line of soldier who had their guns raised at the podium, there, with Mr. Shinra on his knees and a katana at his throat, was the leader of AVALANCHE: a dour-looking woman, seemingly harmless in appearance.

Elfé.

Their duel was unlike anything Sephiroth had ever experienced. This girl, seemingly from nowhere, was able to parry his every strike, quick to react even when Sephiroth switched to the offensive. For the first half of the duel she was as calm as he, unenthused as she redirected Masamune with her plain katana.

"I don't say this often," he announced to her. As far as he was concerned, his mission was accomplished, having guided and led the fight onto a clear street, away from the president. However, that wasn't to say that he was finished with the confrontation. "I'm impressed with your skill."

The woman blinked, her dark eyes unaffected under the strands of her mousy brown hair, eyes devoid of the traditional mark of SOLDIER, yet housed in a body that clearly displayed the strength of one. "I would say thank you, but I don't owe that to the arrogant pawn of an oppressor."

Sephiroth's look was filled with poison. "I'm no one's pawn." He rushed forward, lunging at Elfé with a speed he had not even reserved for his duels with Genesis or Angeal. Elfé grunted as she brought the katana up to block, just barely locking the blade with his, but efficiently holding her ground against his strength.

"Maybe not a pawn," she replied through gritted teeth, "but a warrior with nothing to fight for is probably a far worse thing to be."

Sephiroth's acidy glare gave pause to her words, and he released the sword lock by leaping back away from the woman to study her. Elfé did not take the opportunity to retaliate, only stared back with the same unresponsive eyes. He wasn't sure if she lacked personality entirely or if it was just part of her discipline.

He shook his head and allowed himself a haughty smirk. "Let me guess. This is the part where you ask me to join your little team."

The corner of Elfé's mouth twitched, not-quite-a-smile. "Yes, we're currently taking volunteers, but you don't have to worry. I'm not interested in anyone who doesn't believe in the cause that we're fighting for – not even if it's the Great Sephiroth himself who decides to knock on our door." Elfé brushed back her boyish bangs with her other hand, and then Sephiroth saw it ; a glowing materia strangely embedded into the back of her hand, possibly the source of her impossible strength.

"Something to fight for…" Sephiroth murmured. As simple as the words were, it was a disturbingly foreign concept to him.

"You'll learn what that is eventually," Elfé assured him, her gaze slightly downcast, "when the home you call Shin-Ra takes away everything you've ever known to be true in this life, and all you have left is the knowledge and the will to make them pay."

She seemed so certain of that, Sephiroth realized, as if Elfé knew something about him that he did not. He thought about it though, and he remembered Genesis' need for retribution, and Angeal's desperation to right all of the wrongs. Was it inevitable? Would Sephiroth end up consumed by the same thing and join the ranks of his friends, or a ruthless terrorist organization hell-bent on destroying everything? As apathetic as he currently felt at this point, was it even physically possible for him to be driven to that much hatred for just one thing? Loathe as he was to admit it out loud, Sephiroth found the idea of actually feeling _anything_ a rather appealing notion.

"I want to leave this at a draw," she suddenly announced. "Not that I'm getting cold feet or anything, but I've already gotten what I came for. I targeted President Shinra as a distraction, and my fighters are on their way to the mako cannon as we speak. It'll be fired at Midgar."

"Fire away," Sephiroth dared. "You're still in no position to demand such a thing." He raised Masamune and prepared his stance.

"I know," she answered, "but I refuse to beat or be beaten by you right now, when you don't even have the incentive to fight. Besides, if I did manage to escape, would it even honestly bother you?"

Sephiroth gave the question real consideration. He would be disappointed that they didn't finish their duel, but that was only because Elfé was the first real challenge he's had in years since being in SOLDIER. In the long run however…

"AVALANCHE means nothing to me," he admitted.

"Among other things," she guessed. Elfé turned away from him, sheathing her katana. "Think about what I said. Let me know when you find it."

"I'll find it," he vowed, but by that time, the mysterious swordswoman had already gone.

Hours after the anti-Shin-Ra group had escaped Junon, Sephiroth, along with every person connected to corporation's network, received an electronic message. Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley. Killed in Action. Sephiroth found himself throwing his phone into Junon's harbor. Killed in Action. As if they had never left to begin with. He watched the handheld sink into the murky water, knowing Shin-Ra would just send him another replacement.

_Nothing to fight for,_ he bitterly thought. He had originally felt that refusing to take part in the assassination of his friends would do them a service, and yet their names were now nothing more than an automated text message received by oblivious people the world over. If that was the sort of reckoning Genesis had hoped for, then Sephiroth wasn't impressed. What was the point in fighting so hard for something if the effort would be so easily dismissed?

Still, he decided. Elfé was right. Sephiroth would not be reduced to a mere headline to be stored away somewhere within the company's news archives. He would find what Elfé told him about, even if it would take him years.

_I will never be a memory._

_------------------------------------------_

**Author's Note: **I really, really, really, am not satisfied with this, and my livejournal will explain why. For now however, I just wanted to note that Elfe is not an OC, she's from Before Crisis, the leader of the AVALANCHE that existed before Barret got his hands on it. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a hold of the actual account of what occured in their duel, but I felt it was important to Sephiroth's character, and thus it was included in a vague paraphrasing sort of way. If anyone has actually managed to play this obscure mobile-specfic game, I would greatly appreciate a quick message in my inbox on how the events played out.


	12. Twelve

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

**

* * *

**

By the time Sephiroth returned to Midgar, his apartment refurbished and his mobile once again replaced, the air at headquarters was stagnant with apprehension. AVALANHCHE had failed in their attempt to destroy Midgar with the mako cannon in Junon, Elfé's plan foiled by the Turks. The city had narrowly escaped two subsequent deaths by both Genesis and AVALANCHE, and although the company proceeded to function as though nothing had happened, Sephiroth could see the fear, worry and stress on the faces of nearly every employee. The invincible Shin-Ra Inc., its members in SOLDIER now dwindling to a dangerous number, might not be able to protect its own customers anymore.

Sephiroth had never been one to follow politics, but it was nearly impossible to ignore the complaints and protests about how the meaningless war with Wutai had left them vulnerable to all of the recent attacks, that President Shinra's greed and expansionist ideologies had caused them the grievances that they were facing. In response to the criticism, the company predictably initiated a tax hike on electricity, hoping that the revenue would help with the damages and losses they sustained. Sephiroth didn't need to be a political scientist to see that the action would more than likely provoke the growing anti-ShinRa following.

While the world was concerned with that, Sephiroth tried to focus on Elfé's advice. On the SOLDIER floor by the briefing room were the equipment lockers where the second and third classes received their standard issue weapons and armor. Sephiroth sought out the electronic kiosk there, a simple database where members of SOLDIER could sign up for any available missions that had not yet been assigned to someone. It had been years since Sephiroth had even looked at the thing. The mission list usually consisted of small, tedious operations, such as patrolling the slums for Shin-Ra military police on leave, or beta-testing an upgrade to the training room. Sephiroth wouldn't have normally bothered with it, but the truth of the matter was that he had no idea where to start looking when it came to Elfé's recommendation. There was the small hope that if he perhaps distracted himself with assignments he could complete with his eyes closed, then his purpose for fighting would find him instead.

"Now there's something you don't see every day."

Sephiroth barely spared Lazard a glance as he emerged from the Briefing Room, cleaning his eyeglasses with a cloth. He continued to scroll through the list of available errands, irritated with the large number of missions involving the Science Department. Every half-an-hour or so, a new one would be added to the list, a request by Professor Hojo to collect combat data against captured specimens and the like.

Lazard leaned against the mission, ever amused by the glare in Sephiroth's eye. "I don't think I've ever actually seen you look for grunt work."

"I'm bored," Sephiroth replied, his eyes still on the screen.

"I'm actually on my way downstairs to welcome the batch of new recruits," Lazard revealed. "If you're really that bored you could try training them."

Sephiroth let out a short bark of laughter. "You're a funny man, Deusericus."

"Why thank you, I'm here till Thursday," he immediately responded, smiling as he returned the glasses to his face.

Lazard had been the one to fill Sephiroth in on the details regarding Genesis and Angeal. Tseng and Zack had managed to track Hollander down to an abandoned Shin-Ra research facility in the Icicle region to the far north, a place called Modeoheim. It was where Hollander had taken the rest of the stolen weapons and copy technology, and it was the true place where he and Genesis had been operating from. The account that Zack had left in the paperwork that followed described Genesis as having degraded to the point of rapidly aging, his appearance comparable to that of a man in his mid-sixties. Finally coming to the realization that Hollander could not stop the degradation, Genesis allegedly took his own life, free-falling into the abyss under the out-of-use mako reactor, a pit that held the substance decades before it had run dry.

As for Angeal… Sephiroth was not exactly sure what to make of Zack's report. It seemed inconsistent somehow. Last time Sephiroth had seen him, Angeal seemed determined to put a stop to Genesis' destructive plans, but at Modeoheim he had apparently resolved himself to attacking Zack, forcing the young First Class to engage his mentor in combat out of self-defense. Angeal did not survive the encounter. The only certain fact was their detainment of Hollander, now currently held in Junon and awaiting interrogation.

"You might enjoy welcoming them, at least," Lazard said. "We're hoping to bring in some transfers from Heidegger's department, so at least they'll have basic training."

"Good for them," Sephiroth dryly remarked, logging off from the system and his fruitless search. "Why not," he added, following Lazard out. It would give him something to occupy his boredom at least.

Genesis had cost SOLDIER a lot, between the deserters he took with him to copy his genetic traits onto, to the lives he took during his short lived rebellion. Therefore it was deemed necessary to bring recruits from wherever possible. However, it wasn't so simple. The transferred military police from the Public Safety department may not have the physical requirements needed to survive the mako treatments.

That was where Lazard took him to – the Public Safety grounds behind the Shin-Ra building. Lazard went to welcome the volunteers personally, where they waited with new Third Classes, and to wish them luck with the physical aptitude exam while Sephiroth opted to watch from the observation room nearby, the hopeful recruits unaware of his presence there. The last thing he felt like doing was giving some quazi-inspirational speech simply because he was SOLDIER's favorite mascot. Sephiroth was certain that Lazard would try to push him into doing it anyway, though.

And then Sephiroth saw something he hadn't expected at all. Lazard patted a tall figure in a First Class uniform on the back and then walked off towards the observation room. Zack Fair, who he hadn't seen since Genesis attacked weeks ago, addressed the pristine line of SOLDIER hopefuls, the men still in their MP uniforms, machine gun rifles slung on their left shoulders. He seemed different somehow, aside from the slightly longer, combed back new hairstyle. Though the kid still oozed the confidence Sephiroth had always seen, gone was what Angeal used to call "the puppy." Zack seemed calmer, humbler, and resolved.

What held Sephiroth's attention, even as Lazard entered the room, was the familiar sword on Zack's back, the great white blade that Angeal had always guarded so closely for his family. Zack was now in possession of the Buster Sword, inherited no doubt during his final meeting with Angeal. Nothing about Zack's expression or demeanor suggested that he had violently forced the sword from his mentor. In fact, Zack pulled the weapon out to address his audience, his gaze full of reverence as the initiated Third Classes and Shinra army hopefuls were held captive by whatever he was saying.

Sephiroth concentrated on Zack's expression, on the pattern his lips made to form words. "_Embrace your dreams, and no matter what happens, protect your honor as SOLDIER._"

He found himself relaxing a little, his tightly knitted eyebrows easing back into a calm expression. Though Zack had not been Sephiroth's pupil, there was something satisfying in seeing how Angeal's student had turned out to be. Zack Fair had exceeded all of his friend's expectations, and had even gone as far as fully adopting the man's philosophy on life. He supposed it was comforting to know that at least one of his friends had been able to leave some kind of legacy.

_A pupil, then?_ Sephiroth asked himself. Did having something to fight for begin with passing knowledge on to another? He searched his mind for names and faces in SOLDIER. Yes, he had on occasion taken part in the basic sword training of Third Classes, but there had never been a member of SOLDIER that caught his attention, or intrigued him enough to teach everything he knew. In order to pass all of that along to someone, Sephiroth would not only need to find someone worthy of teaching, but also a person he could actually stand for a long period of time, and he certainly didn't have many of those. Two people who could make such a claim were now dead.

Outside things became very busy as the physical aptitude exam for SOLDIER began. The door to the observation room opened, and in entered both Heidegger and Rufus Shinra, the head of Public Safety half-way through a cigar and the young vice-president with his nose wrinkled a little in disgust. Rufus took to standing as far away from Heidegger as he could, his spot near Lazard making the two seem twin-like in appearance.

Heidegger barked out a guffaw, spewing out a puff of cigar smoke. "Have you been keeping up with our boys at the Security Department?" he asked, pointing a thumb behind him at the few dozen troops being evaluated outside. "I don't understand why any of them would want to move unto SOLDIER when our department has got the best technological resources." Catching the raised eyebrow of Lazard, he quickly added, "No offense m'boy."

"You'll have to forgive Heidegger," Rufus said, "…or not." In his signature gesture he smirked and pushed aside a lock of blonde hair. "He's so used to competing with Scarlet's department that it's his default response to everyone else. Except he doesn't seem to realize that no one else actually cares."

Heidegger frowned, the cigar pressed tightly in between his teeth. "Don't talk about me as if I'm not here!"

Emphasizing the insult, Rufus turned his back on the man to face Lazard and Sephiroth. Lazard pushed his glasses further against his face and crossed his arms in an admittedly defensive stance. "To what do we in SOLDIER owe the pleasure, Mr. Vice-President?" Lazard asked, his tone tense and guarded. Sephiroth quietly watched the interaction unfold, a realization gradually dawning upon him.

"No need to be so formal, Lazard," Rufus replied, "we've been working together for years."

"You're in a much higher position now," Lazard defended, "one not easily achieved by others. One might even argue that it's a position to be born into."

Sephiroth hid his interest in the conversation behind a stoic mask, anticipating Rufus' response to the veiled jab. He didn't imagine that the backhand was lost on Rufus, but in his usual political acumen the young vice-president expertly brushed it off with a confident response. "Destiny chooses very few, it seems."

Lazard closed his eyes, his lips forming a solemn shape. "Indeed it does." He then politely excused himself from the room, muttering about a matter in his office that suddenly came to his attention.

"Now that's not like him, is it?" Rufus asked, mirroring Sephiroth's thoughts. They watched through the observation panel as Lazard passed the recruits Zack had been examining without even a second glance to the newest members of SOLDIER. Normally Sephiroth would have expected Lazard to address them with a small welcoming speech or words of encouragement, but even the regular e-mails and messages he usually sent to boost morale had become less frequent, and those he had sent lately appeared to be lined with some underlying concern, perhaps a personal one.

"It's probably nothing," Sephiroth answered, both to Rufus and to his own thought process. "There is a lot that needs repairing here since Genesis' attack."

"This is true," Rufus agreed. "There a lot of people who depend on Director Lazard, even you, to some extent."

Sephiroth eyed him carefully, not pushing the matter with an immediate answer but wondering what Rufus was hoping to get at. "Lazard is an administrator," Sephiroth said carefully. "An administrator provides discipline and organization. I need no such guidance with either one."

Despite Sephiroth's cautionary glare to the younger man, Rufus gave him an unconcerned shrug. "I see. Whereas the younger members of SOLDIER look to Lazard as a paternal icon and trust their careers in his hands, you are a constant that remains in Shin-Ra with or without him."

Remembering Elfé's words, Sephiroth thought, _With or without Shin-Ra too._ He may not have known what he wanted to fight for, but he was certain of what he didn't want to become. With the path that the company was currently on, Sephiroth was almost certain he would outlive Shin-Ra, and when that time came he refused to decay with the Mako reactors they would inevitably leave behind.

"I suppose hindsight is 20/20 after all," Rufus mused. "You are wise in not trusting Lazard so blindly as your inferiors do."

Sephiroth frowned. He knew Rufus had been trying to pry something from him. "What is it, Shinra? I'm not interested in any petty internal power struggles."

Rufus shook his head in an almost apologetic way. Even the self-assured vice-president could not pretend Sephiroth hadn't already lost patience with him, or ignore the righteous threat that was building in his verdant glare. "Very well, it may not bother you," Rufus consented, "but I'm sure you're aware that Lazard is not without his own agendas."

"Who isn't," Sephiroth hissed.

"Indeed," Rufus said with a nod. He brushed back his hair again and turned, the door automatically sliding open for him as he departed. Heidegger scratched his bearded chin thoughtfully, flicking the ash of his cigar to the floor with his other hand.

"Thought he would never stop talking," Heidegger sighed.

Sephiroth ignored him, his scowl deepening. It was in Rufus' nature to spread discord amongst the others in power, but SOLDIER didn't really concern him, which meant that Lazard had some personal interest in Rufus' position. Sephiroth now wondered what Lazard was willing to do to achieve those interests. The politics of it all didn't matter to him, but if SOLDIER was compromised because of it…

Memories of Angeal flashed briefly before him, of his late friend's distress over the home he had come to revere. Then there was Zack outside, continuing his mentor's legacy. Where would that all be if Lazard took it upon himself to destroy it? Sephiroth could feel the winds of change upon him, and he was just a mountain that was incapable of budging before it.

_I can bring change,_ he realized, _but should I even bother?_ According to the press, he was single handedly responsible for ending the war in Wutai. He brought change without even planning to, simply acting on the whims of corporate interests. For the first time, Sephiroth felt disgusted by the notion, having felt nothing for the act previously. Elfé was right. He could not continue being driven by apathy.

Sephiroth left that night for Wutai, having made a list in his mind of the things he did not feel indifferent towards. Two of those things had been his only friends, and now they were gone. Once upon a time there was Dahlia, but he had grown indifferent towards her as well, Sephiroth willing to admit that his feelings for her had not been particularly overwhelming to begin with. However, he first knew her during the only time in his life where there was something he was willing to fight for. The one thing that had been a true challenge for him to achieve had once been in the hands of the greatest swordsman to have ever walked the planet before himself, and once Sephiroth had obtained it, he needed nothing else from anyone or anything.

Deep in Wutai five years ago, Masamune awaited him.

There was the hope that if he could somehow revisit that moment he might be able to discover a new reason to fight, a new challenge. Masamune the sword had once belonged to Masamune the man, and as far as Sephiroth was aware, he still existed, hidden in the dense forests of that western country and undisturbed by the war. He had been the stuff of legends, a man who lived to be almost two-hundred, and unable to be defeated. The Wutai claimed that he would appear in the war to aid his people against Shin-Ra, and those in SOLDIER had often spoke of the legendary katana he would one day give to the warrior who finally bested him in battle. Sephiroth, who was younger then but no less skilled, was determined to prove or disprove the existence of such a legendary weapon.

Sephiroth simply had Naomi fly him to Wutai and leave him near the southern forests, knowing the location of Masamune due to his previous visit. Though he had discovered the man's sanctuary years ago, he would not compromise its location to others. That was the agreement he chose to honor when he won the sword in his duel with the ancient warrior.

He breached the thick woods alone, allowing the lush darkness to envelop him willingly. Sephiroth accepted the familiarity of the place, found himself relaxing even in the face of the increasingly claustrophobic closeness of the trees. This was a lot like the Ancient Forest near Cosmo Canyon, the trees so old and still for so long they seemed unlikely to change anytime soon. He almost felt a kinship with them, acutely aware of what it was like to stand still while the world moved around him. In the natural quiet of Wutai's oldest forest this was the closest Sephiroth ever felt to being home, or at least, he imagined how it might feel to have one.

"_Why so concerned with home and identity? The planet is home. You are born, then you die, and in the end there is no end. You go home, to be born again._"

"_You're describing the Lifestream aren't you?_"

"_When I was young boy, I saw it. Cradle of life, cradle of death. In it I met sleeping mother waiting for son to return to her._"

Sephiroth allowed himself a smile, the old man's words all those years ago just a tiny fraction of the hours of conversation he had with the man known as Masamune. It was just after Professor Gast's death that Sephiroth found Masamune in these very woods, and discovered much more than an aged swordsman. A man who outlived his own grandchildren and great-grandchildren was the closest thing to an Ancient Sephiroth had ever met. He was no Cetra, of course, but the term "Ancient" encompassed all that came before the era of humanity's control of the environment, before the harvest of coal, oil or Mako. Masamune was what remained of Wutai's oldest philosophies, when the civilization was in its infancy. Sephiroth thought he found a new mentor after Gast, and there was a part of him that didn't wish to return to Shin-Ra, SOLDIER or the war even after he won the sword from Masamune, but much like his present circumstance, Sephiroth realized that he could not stand still forever. In the peace of Masamune's sanctuary, Sephiroth would not hear the panic of his comrades or of Shin-Ra's invested parties in the war. He looked forward to feeling that again.

The hike was easier, the path to Masamune ingrained in Sephiroth's memory. There were no foot trails created by any previous hikers. Here the trees grew wild, branches entangled with one another with the moonlight barely filtering in through the leaves. The first signs of winter caused the trees to begin their gradual shedding; yellow, red, green and orange falling all around him as he walked. Every step was a careful calculation, as the roots beneath had long since finished their grasp for territory, taking up every possible space and entwining with their gnarled companions. Sephiroth felt many pairs of eyes on him, eyes that years ago would have challenged his presence here in the wood, but the creatures that dwelled in the tiny spaces between the trees were not hard of memory. They remembered the powerful youth who dismissed their threats with half an effort, and their descendants sensed the weapon he inherited from Masamune who dwelled at the heart of the place.

Sephiroth knew he reached his destination when the trees around him became sparse, the trunks burnt black and the branches forever devoid of leaves. The plethora of color that surrounded him previously was now a bleak landscape of black and bleached bone, the moonlight only emphasizing this nearly monochrome palette. Through the opening Sephiroth came upon a clearing, and in the clearing was a simple wooden dwelling, the architecture harking back to Wutai's earliest styles, not as ornate as the pagodas and houses of the present, but no less refined. The sophistication was there, and it hadn't changed in the five years since Sephiroth's last visit. It probably hadn't changed in decades either.

The space before the dwelling was a ring with white sand. Sephiroth stood in the middle, remembering the duel with Masamune. Somewhere to the left by the trees was the soft pattering of a bamboo fountain, dispensing water into a basin from its well. He waited.

"Told you not to come again."

Sephiroth lifted his gaze to stare at the dwelling from which the voice came, a deep resonate that was full of conviction and unwavering even with the extreme age of its owner.

"And I wouldn't have," Sephiroth answered, "but I needed to find something."

"Already have what you need. Leave an old man to wither in peace."

Sephiroth slowly paced around the ring, staring about his surroundings. "I thought you would have returned to the Planet by now. Are you waiting for something?"

"No," the disembodied voice answered, and it broke in its conviction. "And it is agony."

Sephiroth gave the dwelling an alarmed stare, his gloved fists clenched in anticipation. He saw a wrinkled hand grasp at the open doorway, gripping the frame with firmly but with a half-heartedness all the same. The man known as Masamune stepped out into the moonlight with a deliberate, careful pace. The washed-out grey fabric of his kimono hung dejectedly on his frame, the sleeves draped heavily over his arms. Masamune's tired frame eventually paused in the middle of the clearing, narrowed eyes wearily studying Sephiroth. His hair was as silver as his own, and longer, almost to Masamune's feet with half of it picked up in a knot on the top of his head along with a matching, well-groomed beard that reached his collarbone. While he hardly appeared to be two-hundred, there was no mistaking the man's aged appearance. The way he held himself however said a lot more to Sephiroth than the wrinkles on his skin. When Masamune stood to his full height he used to appear taller than he actually was, more imposing than Sephiroth even. Now his shoulders naturally drooped and his head and neck were craned downward, as if it would be painful for him to look up.

Sephiroth grimaced, feeling the urge to approach the old man but rooted to the spot by indecision, as if touching him would make Masamune break or disappear entirely. "What has happened to you?" Five years ago Masamune had the strength to break a man with his stare.

"One does not drink from the river of life without consequence," Masamune sighed. "My soul wishes to sleep, but my body is doomed to forever walk. I should have died long ago…" He closed his eyes and swayed as if he were dizzy, and Sephiroth immediately started forward, catching the man by his shoulders before he could fall.

"You mean the Lifestream did this?" Sephiroth asked, glaring at the state of Masamune. It didn't make sense for the body to prolong as it did. Generally, contact with the purest form of Mako physically debilitated a person, giving them Mako poisoning. Then again, Sephiroth had never seen the Lifestream itself; no one had. Who other than Masamune could truly describe its effects?

"When I was young boy, I met sleeping mother waiting for a son," Masamune explained. "She could not be whole without him, and so she gave me a gift. With it I was to wait and give gift to her son."

Sephiroth's eyes widened slightly in realization. "Masamune," he breathed. "You met an Ancient, didn't you? The Ancient gave you the sword, hoping you would find some surviving member of the Cetra and give it to them, no matter how long it took you. Contact with her prolonged your life, but since I took the sword from you…" He released the old man and turned away, clenching his fists. "…you won't be able to die now."

Sephiroth held his hand out and called silently for Masamune's gift. The katana's hilt appeared in his hand, and as he wrapped his fingers around its familiar shape, the rest of the blade materialized into its full length, as fluid as Sephiroth's thoughts of the weapon. "The Cetra are gone now. You would have never been able to find one."

"Reunion…"

He turned slightly, finding Masamune hunched over, trembling. "When time comes, you must take me to Reunion. That is the wish of sleeping mother who gave me part of herself."

"Reunion?" Sephiroth asked. "I don't understand." He felt strange, a sort of buzzing in the back of his mind, calling him somewhere.

"You will know," Masamune reassured. Still trembling he approached Sephiroth and stared at the sword that was once his. "Do not be discouraged. I succeeded in fulfilling sleeping mother's wish." With a shaking hand he gently grasped Sephiroth's left wrist, the one holding the sword. "This was but a formless shape of metal living deep in the Planet. She gave it to me and I crafted the purest weapon that could ever be made."

The calling became stronger, and Sephiroth shut his eyes against it. "Masamune…"

"It is one with its wielder, an extension of the self, but only one may use it, the one chosen by sleeping mother."

"What you are describing is nonsense," Sephiroth decided, opening his eyes and pulling away from Masamune's grasp. "You met that Ancient almost two-hundred years ago. Her son is long dead, along with the rest of the Cetra. I'm not nearly old enough to be-,"

"-and yet you are the only one who bested me in battle, the only one able to grasp the sword as I have. I can die in peace knowing this."

"And yet you can't." Sephiroth stared guiltily at the ground, the closest thing to pity he had ever felt for another human being. While he was not directly responsible for Masamune's predicament, he still felt as such.

"Why did you come here?"

Sephiroth brought the sword up to eye level, staring sullenly at the gleaming blade. "I'm looking for a reason to fight. I thought that returning here would help me find one. Dueling you for this sword was the last time I truly fought for anything."

"I see. So like me, you are waiting. Waiting for Reunion."

Sephiroth brought the sword down, the blade cutting through the air with a musical hum. "I'm done waiting." He turned to look at the other swordsman. "My apologies, Masamune. It seems I've made a mistake. I took your reason for fighting away from you, and now you're cursed with this abominated form of immortality. I…"

Masamune craned his head up to look at Sephiroth in interest.

"I can end it for you," Sephiroth offered. "I take no pleasure in this, but I can return you to the Planet."

"The sleeping mother's final gift…" Masamune sighed, closing his eyes. He leaned his head back, the moon bathing his aged features. "Do it, boy. It can only be by your hand."

Sephiroth released a heavy exhale. "Goodbye Masamune."

The sword hummed as Sephiroth spun. He barely felt its impact against Masamune's body, but the man collapsed all the same, his back striking the ground and sending up a cloud of white dust. Grimacing, Sephiroth stepped over to his body and stared down at the man who made his sword, surprised by the expression of serenity he found on Masamune's face. Somehow there was no blood, not a trace of it anywhere in the rip he had made in Masamune's kimono. Within a few moments of heavy silence his body began to fade, the physical matter of him becoming bright like the glow of materia and dissipating into the air. Sephiroth watched the fragments of his soul until they grew invisible in the air, pure energy in no singular form.

"Reunion…" Sephiroth murmured. What did he mean? Sephiroth shook his head and sat upon the steps to Masamune's old dwelling, trying to ignore the call, the impulse to follow it overwhelming. He refused to move, however, not willing to be lead along like some marionette on strings even if it was by his own subconscious. But he could not deny the sensation that the calling brought, of what it promised him.

It was as if he were being called home.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So this was a long time coming... I've been working diligently on my original novel of sorts, so fanfiction has kind of been put on the back burner. But if there's someone who will never leave my fragile little brain, it's Sephiroth. That's right folks. He will never be a memory.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing in the meantime, I really do appreciate the feedback. Also, a big thank you to Irish-Brigid for the timeline. It definitely helped. Hoped you enjoyed this chapter that was like a year in the making. I'm not sure I'm satisfied with it, especially after making you all wait for so long...


	13. Thirteen

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

Winter transitioned into spring, and Sephiroth remained in Masamune's sanctuary, content to isolate himself once again from the masses. Out in the wilderness his phone only rarely got reception, and when it did he dismissed the occasional Shin-Ra corporation updates. As far as he was aware, there was not an overwhelming cry for his presence in Midgar or anywhere else, and so Sephiroth found relative peace with his thoughts, without distractions. He spent his days training with Masamune, the sword's hums his only musical backdrop. As he danced with his steel companion he pondered the calling, the sensation that promised him security and answers to his origins. Answers at last to questions he had never asked, but should have.

Who was Jenova? Why did the company claim to know nothing of her, or not keep any files on the woman who supposedly birthed Shin-Ra Inc.'s greatest weapon? Why was it only Professor Gast who had been willing to drop her name in the first place? Why did he die before Sephiroth could learn more about her? How could Sephiroth, who was so vitally important to Shin-Ra's existence, have such a virtually non-existent origin?

The answer to all of these questions was as plain as the length of Masamune's edge. Shin-Ra was hiding it all from him. Two could play at that game, he decided.

The wet spring of Wutai eventually gave way into the heat of the early summer. Sephiroth was in the clearing in front of Masamune's house, swinging the katana in an impressive arc when he heard a faint rustle in the trees, one not common to the local fauna. Sephiroth paused and listened, holding Masamune in a poised, refined stance, his trench coat lying on the steps of the dwelling, the leather spared of any sweat from his summer exercising.

"I wonder…" he said to the wind. "How long it took you to find this place?"

The leaves rustled again and out of the corner of his eye Sephiroth observed the two figures that emerged into the clearing. They stayed at the edge of the training ring, cautiously watching the SOLDIER 1st class for any sign that he might move with his blade in hand.

And then there was gunfire. Sephiroth lowered his sword and turned his head to see Tseng standing over the two bodies he shot down. Sephiroth glared at the Genesis copies, not quite in disbelief, but in genuine annoyance for their presence in his predecessor's sanctuary. He had never divulged the location of the place to Genesis, but that did not necessarily mean his clones would not spend the last three months trying to search for him.

"Nice shot, Tseng." Naomi Posada appeared behind him, her hands on her hips as she stared curiously down at the prone bodies.

"Thanks," Tseng lethargically replied.

Sephiroth frowned at them. "Explain yourselves."

Tseng hid his firearm back into the inside pocket of his jacket. "Apologies, sir. Genesis copies have been appearing all over the world, and our intelligence indicates they might have resumed activities in Modeoheim. The President requests that you respond to the issue."

Sephiroth stared hard at Naomi. "Who else knows about this location?"

"No one," she immediately promised. "I had to tell Tseng once we learned the copies were actively looking for you. It took us a while to search these forests, but the copies are still out there."

Sephiroth turned away, heading for the steps of the dwelling to pick up his coat. "Deal with it, then. I have no interest in cleaning up Genesis' leftovers."

"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that, sir," said Tseng. "We have reason to believe that Genesis may still be alive."

Sephiroth closed his eyes and held back a sigh. _Surprise, surprise._ "And what reason is that, Tseng?"

"Director Lazard has disappeared," Naomi said, furrowing worried eyebrows, "after we learned that he had been funding Hollander's research."

Sephiroth shrugged the coat on over his shoulders, smirking. "Ah, so it all finally falls into place."

"You don't sound too surprised," Tseng remarked.

He turned to face the Turk and the SOLDIER 2nd class. "I've had a lot of time to think. Lazard hid his agenda well, but he could not completely disguise his personal issues with the Shinra family. Have you been reading his announcements closely, Posada?"

Naomi titled her head slightly and narrowed her glowing eyes, as if trying to remember the monthly emails and newsletters. "It seemed strange this sudden betrayal," she admitted. "He always referred to SOLDIER as a close knit family of sorts."

"And yet they were always inlaid with concerns with bad blood and neglected children," Sephiroth pointed out. "Lazard Deusericus is none other than an illegitimate son of President Shinra."

Naomi's eyes widened while Tseng crossed his arms with a frown. "You can't possibly have learned that without inside information," the Turk responded. "Did Lazard admit this to you?"

"Not at all," said Sephiroth. "Enough observation made it obvious to me. He shares a strained relationship with his unwitting half-brother, both personally and professionally."

"Rufus Shinra and Director Lazard…" Naomi breathed. "I guess that makes sense. They do look alike."

"But this hardly proves that Genesis is alive," Sephiroth stated. "Is the President requesting that I run SOLDIER in Lazard's place?"

"Unfortunately no," Naomi sighed. "That job was already given to Heidegger. The Board has been talking about merging the two departments together under Heidegger's administration."

Sephiroth felt the urge to laugh but held it back. "That's going over well, I'm sure. So what does Shinra really want from me?"

"To confirm whether or not Genesis Rhapsodos is truly deceased," Tseng clarified. "With your past connection to the ex-SOLDIER, he's likely to seek you out before anyone else."

Sephiroth stared at the dead Genesis clones, scowling. "You're right," he conceded, "and it seems he's already started. Let's go."

Nodding, the pair turned and led the way back into the forest, Sephiroth stepping over the bodies as he followed Tseng and Naomi out. Within the hour they reached the forest's edge where the helicopter awaited them. Machine gun fire sent pattered echoes across the terrain as the infantry men that were left behind to guard the chopper shot at the clones attempting to ambush them. Naomi ran forward, unsheathing her standard issue broadsword and leaping into the conflict with great ease and efficiency. Tseng kept himself at a distance, covering Naomi's blind spots as she engaged the two dozen or so Genesis clones.

Sephiroth didn't have to lift a finger. The Turk and the 2nd class SOLDIER had the copies taken care of in a matter of minutes, making it clear to Sephiroth that they had anticipated their inevitable ambush attempt beforehand. He boarded the helicopter, nodding curtly as the infantrymen saluted him. Tseng took the pilot's chair and Naomi settled as the co-pilot. They took off before Sephiroth had a chance to find a seat for himself, so he took to standing instead, hanging on to a support rail above him as the helicopter jolted upwards.

"Prepare for incoming fire," Tseng warned. Both he and Naomi were wearing headsets and through the windshield before them Sephiroth saw the one-winged Genesis clones they were referring to. The copies hovered in a V-formation, their machine guns aimed directly at the windshield. Sephiroth braced himself as Tseng tugged the joystick sharply to the left.

Sephiroth was pulled towards the hull by the helicopter's tilt as bullets pattered against the upper right hand corner of the windshield. Following that was the miserable sound of a body being shredded by the propellers; an unfortunate end for a Genesis copy that hadn't maneuvered away in time. The spray of blood that covered the windshield was instantly removed by Tseng's prompt use of the helicopter's windshield wipers.

"Not the brightest bunch," he heard Naomi comment before she took the weapons controls and answered to the attack with the helicopter's own guns. The rapid gunfire was almost deafening, but the bullets tore mercilessly through the winged bodies of Genesis' surviving counterparts as Tseng carefully navigated the chopper back into a more suitable position. Singular black wings flapped pathetically before the clones fell to their demises.

"I think that takes care of that," Tseng announced. "What are your orders, sir?"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. If Genesis truly intended to chase him around the world then there was no reason why Sephiroth should not use it to his advantage. "Modeoheim," he simply said, and Tseng needed no further elaboration. He felt the tug of acceleration as the helicopter ascended and pushed forward, propeller blades cutting through clouds once they were high enough.

"Don't get shot down this time, Tseng," Naomi told him. Tseng briefly glared at her and she laughed quietly. "What? Modeoheim's just not your happy place, that's all."

"It's nobody's happy place," he grimly replied, turning his glare forward towards the horizon ahead. "What shall I report to headquarters, General?" he asked, tilting his head slightly in Sephiroth's direction.

Sephiroth closed his eyes, letting the stoicism fall across his expression like heavy stone mask. "We'll be securing the remains of Hollander's stolen equipment, and investigating the possibility that Genesis' copies are still being created there."

Tseng nodded, accepting of Sephiroth's response. In truth, Sephiroth would be securing nothing for the Shin-Ra Electric and Power Company during his stay in Modeoheim. If the company thought it prudent to hide the details of his own life from him then he saw no reason to remain loyal it. Nor would he join Genesis' cause, whether the man continued to live or not. No, Genesis would lead him to the answers he sought, under the premise that he was pursuing Genesis for the sake of Shin-Ra's prosperity.

Hours later the helicopter touched down upon a clearing within the ruins of Modeoheim. It was once a small settlement that thrived due to Mako excavation that occurred there years ago, and provided many in the Icicle region with jobs and economic opportunity. However, once it became banefully clear that there was not as much Mako in the area as Shin-Ra had hoped there would be then the economy in Modeoheim inevitably collapsed once the corporation departed. Hundreds of people were left without the resources necessary to maintain lives in the extremely cold climate. Within months the town was left completely abandoned, which made Modeoheim the perfect place for Genesis to hide and Hollander to pursue his work.

Sephiroth's boots crunched in the few inches of snow beneath him. With the coming of Spring and Summer just around the corner, Modeoheim was not the frozen and impossible tundra that Zack and Tseng had encountered three months ago. Sephiroth started ahead without waiting for any of the others. Naomi ran to catch up with him while shrugging on a coat over her shoulders. She glanced behind her as Tseng stayed behind to speak on his phone, keeping the infantrymen with him.

"You aren't cold, sir?" she quietly asked him. Her voice seemed subdued, as if she were afraid to disturb the dead peace of the ghost town.

"I am," he admitted, keeping his focus on the buildings and warehouses ahead. Somewhere amongst the pine trees a bird cawed, and it echoed in a naturalistic way against the mountain range in the distance.

"There are more clothes in the chopper if you want to -,"

"That won't be necessary," he immediately informed her. His leather coat didn't provide much protection for his chest against the cold, but he didn't intend to stay outside for very long. As Sephiroth stopped before one of the warehouse doors Naomi took the time to glance back once more, where Tseng was directing the infantry men towards the main entrance of the abandoned Mako reactor.

In a hushed tone she conspiratorially whispered, "I couldn't say much back at Wutai, but I'm sorry I had to bring the Turks."

He furrowed his eyebrows at her. "And why is that, Posada?"

Naomi wore a concerned expression. "When Lazard left, rumors went about of an overhaul of SOLDIER, of an investigation into our internal affairs. They say some of the execs talked about holding you responsible for future mishaps."

Sephiroth smirked, feeling a mocking laugh about to build up in his chest. "Let them."

Naomi nodded. "Yeah, I mean, I understand that they're just getting desperate under all that panic lately, but I do know for a fact that Tseng has been given orders to keep an eye on you. He left his assignment in Costa del Sol as soon as he found out I was leaving to get you." Then she frowned. "I'm still not even sure how it is he found out in the first place."

Sephiroth glanced briefly back at the helicopter, but Tseng was gone. His eyes scanned the rooftops around for any sign of the Turk, for he was certain Tseng hadn't followed the infantrymen to the reactor. "What were you all doing in Costa del Sol?" he asked. In the aftermath of Genesis' attacks, what reason was there for a 2nd class SOLDIER and a Turk to be in a resort town?

"I was visiting family," she explained, "but I was given mandatory leave, even when I requested missions… and I wasn't the only one. Zack was there too. So were the Turks."

"So Shinra finds it necessary to send both the Turks and SOLDIER on vacation at the same time," Sephiroth replied. "It seems to me he wanted SOLDIER out of the way, and he wanted the Turks to make sure they didn't get into any trouble."

"The company doesn't trust SOLDIER anymore," Naomi said, "and they're going to consider you the biggest threat."

"Thanks for the warning," he answered, "but I assure you Shin-Ra Inc. is the least of my worries. In the meantime keep a low profile and follow my lead. We'll proceed as normal."

"Yes, sir," she replied with a nod, preparing her sword as Sephiroth pulled the warehouse door open. The frozen steel screeched in protest after being moved for the first time in years. Musk and dampness greeted Sephiroth's nostrils and he snorted away the familiar unpleasantness that was Mako residue.

"This is definitely an old Mako storage facility," he stated. Next to him Naomi produced a flashlight from somewhere on her belt. The narrow beam of light highlighted a storage crate covered in canvas directly ahead of them. "If Genesis hid anything else, it's likely to be found in a place no one feels like looking in."

"Do you believe any of the rumors?" Naomi asked him as they stepped inside. "About Genesis being alive?"

"I don't place much value on beliefs," he said, lifting the canvas on the crate. "I'll need hard evidence."

"I personally think it's a little quick to be jumping to conclusions considering that there are a bunch of men running around with Genesis' face in the first place." Holding her sword towards the open space Naomi side stepped carefully around the crate, where there were others like it. "How do you distinguish the real one from the fake ones?"

Finding a crowbar nearby, Sephiroth pried open the crate's lid. "Hmph. How boring," he muttered, letting the lid fall closed on the spare machine parts. Looking up and spotting the brunette he answered, "The copies don't seem to retain any of Genesis' personality, or personalities of their own for that matter."

"To be fair we haven't really given them much opportunity for conversation," she said. "Both sides have been shooting first and asking questions later."

"Indeed they have." He walked through Naomi's flashlight beam to reach the middle of the room. "There's not much here, just as I expected."

Naomi gave him a questioning glance. "Sir?"

"The Mako smell is coming from the valves and pipes that connect this storage facility to the reactor. Any usable amount was taken by the company a long time ago."

"Wouldn't Genesis and Hollander have needed Mako to create the clones in the first place?" Naomi asked. "How would they be doing that without a working reactor?"

"I'm not entirely certain they were using this place as a cloning facility for very long," Sephiroth answered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "There are many isolated reactors in the world that function perfectly well, and they have limited security."

Counting on her fingers Naomi recited, "Corel, Gongaga, Fort Condor…"

"Gongaga was targeted by AVALANCHE, however," Sephiroth reminded her. "There's also one near Cosmo Canyon, in the Nibel mountain range."

"That's really isolated," Naomi realized. "What are the chances that they're poking around up there?"

Sephiroth shook his head as he found a sealed entrance way. He turned the valve on the door and as he opened it he was assaulted by a stronger Mako musk. He could hear footsteps and voices echoing within. And then some gunfire.

"Quickly," he ordered, and together he and Naomi ran into the relatively dark passage, the tiny emergency lights in the floor guiding their way.

They arrived in the reactor's main antechamber just in time to see one of their men fall over their railing into the black and empty Mako pit, desperately screaming. The others were completely surrounded by the copies. Sephiroth rushed forward, drawing Masamune, its initial arc slicing through several bodies. Naomi took the group's right flank and with one lethal hack she cleaved straight through a clone's helmet. Encouraged by the assistance, Sephiroth's remaining comrades found the reaction time to shoot back at their ambushers.

With an impressive amount of agility, Naomi back flipped over the remaining Genesis clone and sliced at his back. He fell to his knees with a pained gasp and Sephiroth appeared to grasp the copy by the front of his uniform.

"What is your mission directive?" Sephiroth demanded.

The clone reached up to grasp Sephiroth's wrist with a measure of futility. "F-find … and l-locate the Great S-Sephiroth," he gasped.

"Hmph," Sephiroth answered. "I thought as much."

"Are they trying to recruit you?" Naomi asked.

"G-Gift of the Goddess," muttered the clone.

"Explain," Sephiroth ordered, shaking the Genesis look-alike.

The Genesis copy coughed, spitting blood over his chin. After a final pained hiss he went limp in Sephiroth's grasp.

"Sorry," Naomi apologized as Sephiroth released the body. "I remembered Genesis' men being more resilient."

Sephiroth reached down and tore the helmet from the clone's face. "It seems they share the degradation of their original counterpart," he commented with a frown. The clone's waxy pallor and grayed out strands was not unlike Genesis' own features in his last days.

_Last days…_ Sephiroth pondered, looking to the right at the darkness beyond the railing where the empty Mako pit sat. Months ago, Genesis fell to his apparent demise in the pit, and he had done so willingly. Could he have feasibly flown back out of the pit even in a severely weakened state? Sephiroth knew better than most that Genesis was not beyond resorting to theatrics, and it was not hard for him to imagine his old friend making a dramatic return to the world of the living.

"And without Hollander there to help them…" Naomi began.

Tseng appeared from a different pathway a moment later, an urgent expression on his usually stoic face. "We were too late. The cloning equipment has already been taken."

Sephiroth scowled. "Perhaps it would have been wise for the company to reclaim the stolen machinery instead of sending their operatives on vacation."

If the comment fazed Tseng, the Turk certainly did not show it. He merely crossed his arms in a contemplative manner. "I abhor giving excuses, but if I had to guess, I imagine that the company did not perceive any threats to the equipment or to Modeoheim once Genesis was no longer perceived to be a threat."

"Well, he is still a threat isn't he?" Naomi replied. "So much for company perspectives."

Sephiroth stood. "If they took the equipment then they're going to need Hollander to operate it."

"He's still being detained in Junon," Tseng said.

"Then Junon will be their next target," Sephiroth answered. "We need to get there before they do."

Tseng nodded, and in his usual efficient manner he produced his phone to make the necessary calls. Sephiroth followed the group out of the reactor as Naomi led the way for their militiamen. It was nearing dusk by the time the helicopter spied Junon's shoreline.

"We're receiving distress calls from the city," Tseng announced.

Sephiroth suppressed a sigh. "We're late."

"Readying the guns," Naomi answered.

Gunfire came from everywhere, mostly from the cannons installed all over Junon's defenses. Tseng leaned the helicopter away from an arc of bullets that there haphazardly targeting other flying vehicles, most of them stolen from Shin-Ra by the Genesis Army. Naomi angrily communicated something into the radio.

"They can't tell us apart from the enemy," Tseng told her.

"Yes, I can see that," she testily replied.

Calmly, Sephiroth said, "Get us to a hangar. All of this is just Genesis' distraction. They might not be aware that Hollander is their goal."

Tseng tapped his headset. "Cissnei, give me an update…" The helicopter lurched suddenly to one side as he reacted to more attacks. "Zack Fair is en route to the target. Landing now to intercept them."

He brought them safely down on the only open runway nearest to Hollander's detainment area. Both places were separated by several interconnected buildings, which could be problematic. Tseng took off out of the helicopter to meet with his comrade Cissnei while Naomi directed the infantrymen against a group of attacking Genesis soldiers. Sephiroth sat within the helicopter, letting his legs hang over the platform through the open door and simply waited. He had no intention of actually helping them detain Hollander again.

The concrete airfield eventually cleared of activity. Sephiroth watched the sun gradually set and soon enough he spied Zack's spiky silhouette in the distance chasing Hollander's portly one. There was no inclination to rush as he quietly stepped down from the helicopter and began walking towards the scene. Zack had chased Hollander to the edge of the run way, and now there was nowhere for Hollander to physically escape.

Except of course if he decided to jump off of the runway.

Zack started forward, but it was too late. Hollander was carried off by a pair of Genesis copies who flew off into the distance and well out of reach. It would have been within Sephiroth's considerable capability to stop them from escaping, but he once again chose not to interfere.

Tseng and Cissnei appeared, running past Sephiroth and Zack in a futile attempt to follow Hollander. Above them the company's airship hovered, awaiting future passengers. Sephiroth approached Zack as the younger man stared at the horizon, huffing in frustration.

"Mission failed," Sephiroth spoke, an amused smirk on his face. "This goes on your permanent record."

Zack quickly turned, his expression flashing with surprise. "Sephiroth! Long time no see."

"Let the Turks take care of the rest," Sephiroth suggested, noticing Zack's anxious look. "I was on my way to Modeoheim," he lied, "but I heard you were in the area."

"Lucky me…" Zack sighed.

In truth, Sephiroth had no desire to deceive Zack, but he had to maintain the impression that SOLDIER was doing something about the Genesis situation. Otherwise Sephiroth would not be left in peace to find answers for himself without Shin-Ra interfering with his agenda.

"The situation has not resolved," Sephiroth explained. "Genesis copies had been sighted around the world."

"That can't be," Zack answered, turning to him with concerned eyes. "We wiped out those Genesis copies."

"Did Genesis really die?" Sephiroth asked him. Zack was there when it happened, after all, and would have a better account of events than the Turks or anyone else who submitted status reports to the company.

The black-haired young man squinted, remembering the scene and then appeared doubtful. "Uh…" he murmured.

"They've been sighted in Midgar too," Sephiroth added, spotting the worry that Zack tried to hide in front of his superior. Sephiroth hadn't been told for certain that there were sightings in Midgar, but he was about ninety percent certain that Genesis' cohorts would rear their ugly heads there eventually. It was only a matter of time, especially with the company's sheer lack of foresight as of late. Either way, he needed Zack there to take care of things so he could keep Shin-Ra off of his back.

"I see…" Zack murmured, staring at his feet but still keeping his concern to himself. Clearly there was someone, family perhaps, that was in danger of being exposed to Genesis' threat.

"The slums too," said Sephiroth. It was more of a guess, but he made it sound like a certainty, and he was right judging by the way Zack looked up at him in slight alarm. There was someone in Midgar whose safety Zack was invested in.

A question lingered in Zack's eyes, but he was hesitant to speak. "Permission to return granted," Sephiroth said before Zack could even ask.

"Uh, yeah…" responded the other man as a small amount of relief drowned some of his anxiety.

"Take care," Sephiroth said, offering Zack a brief wave before looking towards the descending sun once more.

Zack turned and walked a few steps away before turning around. "Hey… what's going on in Modeoheim?"

"The device Hollander was using has been stolen," Sephiroth replied.

"Genesis?"

"Probably." Sephiroth looked back to see him opening his mouth to speak but deciding against it. "We'll meet again soon," he promised.

Zack walked backwards a bit, pointing a gloved hand at him. "I'll hold you to that."

Sephiroth watched the other First Class SOLDIER walk back down the long expanse of the airport runway, his mind contemplating the list of isolated Mako reactors he and Naomi had discussed earlier. He needed to get Genesis' attention again, but away from Shin-Ra's prying eyes. As efficient as Tseng was as an operative, Sephiroth knew his loyalties were with the company, as were the other Turks'.

_Something to fight for,_ Sephiroth thought, remembering the strange calling sensation in his mind back at Wutai. _What better cause to fight for than one's own past?_ After all, he could barely be expected to fight for anything or anyone if he had no origins to lay the foundation for his principles in the first place. The question as to why it was he never connected or related to anything no longer seemed so difficult to answer. Somewhere out there was the mystery of his mother and the mystery of his existence, waiting to be found.

Sephiroth stared at the horizon, the hint of a content smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He felt very optimistic for the future. For the first time in his life he felt as if he were taking it into his own hands.

_Whatever happens next will change everything._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Eight months. That's how long this update took. I hope you all are still sticking around, but if not, I won't hold it against ya. Writing an original novel has taken it's toll on me recently, what with deadlines and meetings with the publisher, so I took a brief hiatus to focus on something that didn't have doomsday prediction stamped on it. I can't even begin to tell you how refreshing it is to have come back to this story. Sephiroth just flows out of my pen like water. I don't even have to think to write Sephiroth anymore. I wish I could say the same of the characters in my novel...

I can't say this chapter was particularly exciting. At least, not for me. I hope you guys enjoy it though. However, it was a necessary transition. Next chapter, it's Nibelheim or bust!

**Shinz** - I was really pleased with the Masamune origin story. It was an idea I had in my head since even before I started writing this story, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was even playing around with the idea of doing a spin off story that's Masamune-centric; basically his experience in the Lifestream and with Jenova and of course his training of young Sephiroth.


	14. Fourteen

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

* * *

The outlines of each continent had bright glow lines against the backdrop of the map. Sephiroth stared intently up at the wall behind Lazard's desk, contemplating each location that was currently labeled. Desiring more information from it he turned slightly to touch the surface of what used to be Lazard Deusericus' desk. An image of the map suddenly lit up on the opaque surface and by spreading his thumb and forefinger across the screen, Sephiroth was able to make the image zoom in considerably. The effect was mirrored on the large version of it on the wall, and soon enough Sephiroth was staring at the highly rugged topography of the Corel region.

The map simulated the elevated terrain, and a fair distance away from the thriving mining town of North Corel was a glowing dot labeled 'Corel Reactor.' Sephiroth glared at it for a moment.

_With the company currently having a strained relationship with the local miners, it's unlikely Genesis could operate there and be left unnoticed,_ Sephiroth thought. Without being able to ask Genesis directly, he could only postulate what his dissident friend's current agenda might be. There was a large portion of North Corel's population that protested the building of the newest Mako reactor, which made it a perfect place for Genesis to recruit. However, in order to copy his genetics onto his followers he would need men of SOLDIER stock, so Sephiroth thought it unlikely that Genesis would operate from Corel for that reason.

The Corel reactor was also the newest reactor to be built by Shin-Ra and was under considerable surveillance and protection. The company feared that the protesters might take example from AVALANCHE and attempt to destroy the reactor as the terrorists had recently done to the one in Zack's hometown, Gongaga, but no matter how well guarded it was, Sephiroth knew from Genesis' past actions against Shin-Ra that he was not against attacking such sensitive areas, having had attacked Midgar twice and Junon just within the last few months.

However, Sephiroth pondered, if Genesis' body was still degrading he would need an unoccupied reactor for Hollander to work with, one that was isolated like in Modeoheim, but still active and ready to harvest enough Mako for his uses. Corel, with both the Shin-Ra security and the nearby population, would not suit those purposes.

_That only leaves Fort Condor and Mt. Nibel,_ he realized.

Sephiroth instinctively reached into his coat pocket as a ringing filled the air, but then he realized that it was the office phone on the desk. He hesitated a moment before answering, wondering if there was anyone in Shin-Ra that was not yet aware of Lazard's departure from the company, but he picked it up nonetheless, pressing the handset to his ear.

"Yes?" he said.

"General Sephiroth?" inquired a female voice that was unfamiliar to him.

"Speaking."

"This is Cissnei with the Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department." Her voice was soft and reserved and youthful, and suddenly Sephiroth recalled seeing her about with the Turks before. "I have the intel that you requested, but it seems that an urgent response is needed at one of the locations you requested information on."

Sephiroth straightened. "Explain," he commanded, making sure to keep the enthusiasm he was feeling out of his tone.

"We've just received emergency requests from the operatives that were sent to investigate the Mt. Nibel reactor, but we haven't been able to establish contact with them since then."

"What else do you know?" Sephiroth asked.

"Before this incident, we were receiving reports of monsters appearing in the Nibel region, occasionally attacking the main settlement there. These appearances also coincide with reports of the reactor malfunctioning."

Sephiroth leaned over the desk to activate the computer there. "Send me all the reports relevant to the incident."

"Of course," she happily replied.

"Is there anything else?"

"Actually," she began, her cheerful tone instantly becoming serious, "the President is ordering an investigation by SOLDIER for the Mako reactor and has labeled it a top priority."

Sephiroth removed the phone from his ear to stare at it in stunned surprise. A malfunctioning reactor was top priority? Returning the phone to his ear he said, "Send me everything you have then."

"Certainly," she answered, returning back to her cheerful tone. Sephiroth hung up without saying anything else to the young Turk and then sat down to read the computer screen. His list of unread emails appeared and as then his phone chimed just as the ones Cissnei sent showed up at the top of the list. Sephiroth ignored his phone, knowing it was just alerting him of the new emails.

"What the-," Sephiroth uttered, learning forward to glare at the content in front of him. "Unconventional equipment at reactor…?" Sephiroth leaned back in his chair and released an exasperated exhale before reaching for the phone again. Once he heard Zack's voice answer on the other end of the line, he quickly stated, "There are new developments."

"What?" Zack responded, clearly caught off guard.

"Headquarters. Now."

Sephiroth hung up before Zack could respond and then closed his eyes in order to digest all the information he had just absorbed. The fact that the mission docket had called for both members of First Class for what seemed like such a simple enough assignment was especially telling. The Nibel reactor was in the middle of no where, shoved into the face of a mountain that would be incredibly difficult for any normal human being to traverse, if not outright impossible without a guide and the proper equipment. Also, the only population center of any note was hundreds of miles away in Cosmo Canyon. Only villages scattered in between the two areas would be affected by the outbreak of monsters, and not enough of them to really concern the President himself…

…unless of course there was something up there for him to hide.

Weapons manufacturing was usually near the top of President Shinra's list of priorities. Sephiroth guessed that perhaps something top secret was being developed in the Nibel region that Shinra wouldn't want any insurgent forces getting their hands on. Rightly so, Sephiroth thought. With Hollander having escaped with the remnants of Genesis' army, the result of Hollander getting his hands on such a development might prove to be disastrous.

Sephiroth accessed the files that were attached to the mission report. It contained information on the region of Nibel, including some facts and statistics on its biggest settlement, a secluded country town by the name of Nibelheim. After reviewing all the information he then began a database search for any missions recently undertaken or finished by SOLDIER in the region. What he discovered was most promising; a lead by the Turks which had since gone cold.

"Lazard…" he muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing at the screen.

"What about him?"

Sephiroth looked up at the sound of Zack's voice, who had entered and was approaching the former director's desk. Sephiroth stood and joined the younger SOLDIER in front of the office furniture.

"Good, you're here," he said.

Zack shrugged. "Caught the train on time at least. What's going on?"

Pleased that Zack didn't waste any time with further pleasantries, Sephiroth explained, "Legions of monsters have spawned near a regional Mako reactor. The workers have all gone missing. Local SOLDIER operatives have also vanished. The company is dispatching additional operatives to investigate the matter… you and I, that is."

Zack barely flinched from his position where he had been leaning against a counter with his arms crossed. "Roger that," he replied, sounding unenthused.

"What's wrong?" Sephiroth asked, not knowing Zack to be a usually despondent person, especially when it came to receiving new assignments. The youth usually jumped at every opportunity to prove himself, even with missions as mundane as the one Sephiroth described.

"Well, you know," said Zack as he turned to face him. "I thought you found something about… that _other_ matter."

Sephiroth was careful not to convey that he specifically chose Zack for the mission for that very reason, lest he excite the younger operative. It was best to keep everything as quiet as possible, as to not alert the company that both members of First Class new more than they let on. "The missing operatives were the ones tracking Lazard," he began. "Also, they had reported a strange pod like device in the area."

Zack gave a start. "Is that… Hollander's?"

"Probably the same device that was stolen in Modeoheim," Sephiroth speculated.

"Meaning…?"

"Lazard, Hollander…"

"And Genesis?" Zack wondered.

"We'll have to go see them in order to be sure," Sephiroth decided. He was fairly certain that whatever the President was trying to hide in the Nibel reactor held the answers they were seeking.

Zack nodded in agreement. "Let's go," he said, his Mako-eyes looking steely and resolute.

"First, go to the SOLDIER floor," Sephiroth instructed. "We'll depart as soon as you and the rest of the men are ready to go."

"Understood," he answered, turning around to hurry towards the door.

"Our orders are to investigate the reactor," Sephiroth called out at him, successfully halting the youth. "They mention nothing of… old friends." Sephiroth stared pensively at the floor while Zack watched him. "Depending on what happens, I may abandon Shin-Ra," he admitted.

Zack appeared a bit stunned and didn't say anything. "Until then," Sephiroth clarified, "I'll remain loyal to SOLDIER."

This seemed to relieve the other man as he released a bit of an exhale. This amused Sephiroth a but, imaging that Zack for a moment thought he might defect to Genesis' side and pick up where his friend left off – everyone's worst fear. Alas, however, he would not join any faction, anyone's cause that wasn't his own. Sephiroth smiled to himself as Zack left the room, greatly anticipating the change that would surely come as a result of their mission.

In the meantime, there were other matters to take care of. Sephiroth spent the next few minutes typing up a formal letter to the Board of Directors, in which he recommended Naomi Posada for the rank of First Class, as well as heir apparent of his leadership role in the event of his discharge, resignation or unlikely demise. Sephiroth had also considered Zack for the position, but in the end he felt more confident of Naomi's leadership capabilities and maturity in the field, even though Zack outmatched her in physical ability. It was the perfect time to announce such a promotion, considering that the Board was still squabbling with Heideggar over the merging of his department with SOLDIER's.

With that take care of, he phoned Dahlia.

"Well, this is a surprise," she drawled. "Wait. Don't tell me. The world's ending again."

He chuckled a bit, appreciative of her dry humor. "Not quite."

"You're in a good mood," she remarked. "What's the occasion?"

"Dinner," he said. "Tonight."

"What?" she uttered quietly, sounding genuinely shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"Come to dinner with me tonight," he repeated.

"Are you drunk?"

Sephiroth laughed, a genuine bark of mirth and amusement. "You know I don't get drunk, Dahlia."

"Then what's going on with you?" In a sudden tone of anger she said, "I swear, if you're just calling to mock me-,"

"Why would I do that?"

"We've been divorced for three years! Is this your idea a joke?"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "I promise you my intentions are pure." There was a pause, and then in a more serious tone he explained, "I haven't lived for myself, not in a very long time. When I had the opportunity to do that, I let duty and work destroy our marriage."

"So did I," she softly admitted, "but we were young. What's done is done."

"True," he said, "but I've realized a lot in the past few months. You're the only friend I have left, Dahlia."

There was another stagnant pause and then Dahlia's voice cracked through the receiver. "You've just always been so good at hiding your emotions. I guess I just failed to realize how much this whole Genesis and Angeal thing had actually taken its toll on you."

"If nothing else they've taught me a valuable lesson: Live, and be no one else's pawn. I've been doing this for far too long." Sephiroth's eyes wandered back to the holographic world map to display behind Lazard's desk. He began trying to search it for places he had been in the world when not on Shin-Ra's agenda. Needless to say there were very few.

"I-I don't know what to say," she answered. "SOLDIER is your life."

"Then perhaps its time to find something new," Sephiroth decided. "You're always travelling. Maybe you can help me find it."

"Umm… okay," Dahlia responded, sounding bewildered. "Let's see… I'm going to start an excavation in Bone Village in a few weeks. Not that they need any more excavators, but I have reason to believe that we can actually find the Forgotten City of the Ancients."

"You mean you can actually find the Lunar Harp?" Sephiroth asked. "You do realize you won't be the first or last researcher to attempt such a futile task."

"No, forget the harp," she said. "That may be just a story taken out of its original context after so many centuries. If an advanced civilization really did live out there and out of reach, they would've needed more practical means of accessing the city. There's just no logic to having a single object be the means of access for an entire population, especially when the loss of such an artifact could very well trap the people in their own city."

"That's a reasonable point," Sephiroth answered. "So, dinner tonight, then?"

Dahlia sighed. "I'd love to, but I can't. I'm not even in Midgar right now."

"Ah," he replied, hiding the disappointment in his voice. "No matter. I'm going on a mission myself. I should be back in time for your expedition."

"Looking forward to it," she said in a light, flirty tone before hanging up. It was one he hadn't heard from her in years.

With his dinner plans squashed however, Sephiroth decided to move the departure time for the mission ahead by a few hours. After sending the instructions to Zack he made his way to the SOLDIER floor where he found the other First Class SOLDIER addressing a group of three Shin-Ra security officers, one of which who had yet to don his helmet. They each stood at attention upon Sephiroth's approach. The one without the helmet, whose hair stuck out in random blond spikes, gaped at him in apparent awe.

Zack turned to face Sephiroth, his demeanor a lot less formal than his astonished recruits. "By the way," he asked, "where are we going?"

Sephiroth looked over at him. "To Nibelheim."

The blonde recruit gave a look of surprise before Sephiroth left the group to make the transport arrangements. On a typical mission they would simply be taken by helicopter to the mission site, but Sephiroth planned a more covert operation, one that wouldn't likely attract unwanted attention. The five of them were flown to Cosmo Canyon that night, and from there they boarded a single supply truck, packed with ordinary military provisions.

The preceding morning was a miserable one as the truck drove on through relentless sheets of rain. The sky made the day seem as if it were night instead, and thunder shook the frame of the truck as they rolled along on the bumpy road.

The windshield wipers did little to defend against the pounding rain. Sephiroth kept an impassive watch on Zack and the three security troops, one of which who was driving. Zack stood at the back, watching the lightning through the slightly opened canvas flap while the blonde sat away from them, hunched over and looking pale with motion sickness.

"It sure is raining hard," Zack murmured, the first words spoken in hours. He looked to the blonde infantryman with concern and approached him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, how are you doing?"

The blonde looked up at Zack. He was a young thing, probably no older than sixteen. "I'm all right," he said unconvincingly as he sunk lower to the ground.

"I wouldn't know," Zack replied, appearing sympathetic. "I've never had motion sickness."

The blonde nodded and then shut his eyes, leaning his head against a crate in his discomfort. Zack stared for a while, rubbing the back of his neck and looking unsure. He then paced about the truck for a while.

"Everything okay?" he asked the other officer. After the man nodded, Zack started pacing again.

"Hey," Sephiroth said, causing Zack to turn around. "Settle down."

Zack stopped in the very middle of the space they occupied and began performing squats. Restlessness exuded off of him in waves, enough to make Sephiroth stiffen in irritation from his spot in the corner where had been sitting perfectly still.

"They gave me new materia," Zack announced as he continued his exercise. "I can't wait to use it."

Sephiroth shook his head. "Just like a kid."

Zack stood back up and sheepishly smoothed back his hair as if reconsidering his own maturity level and composure. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Are you going to brief us about this mission?"

Sephiroth glanced over at the two others. Though the blonde had his eyes closed and was grimacing with nausea, the other one's head had perked up to pay attention to the conversation. After a pause, he warned, "Despite what the company may have you believe, this isn't a typical mission."

"Good!" Zack replied, looking perky.

"Why do you say that?" Sephiroth asked. Zack knew full well that he and Sephiroth had an unofficial mission to accomplish.

Zack turned to watch the lightning through the flap again. "It's kind of embarrassing to admit, but I joined SOLDIER so that I could be like you. But the war was practically over by the time I made First Class, and so my big hopes of becoming a hero like you ended with it." He sheepishly smiled. "That's why I sign up for whatever mission is available, big or small… kind of a way to prove myself."

Sephiorth said nothing in response, having expected as much of him. Zack's nervousness was probably a result of his anticipation to settle the score with Genesis once and for all, without company interference.

"So… umm… how's everything going for you, _Mister_ Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth gave him an incredulous look. The kid was even more anxious than he thought. "I thought you wanted a briefing."

Zack looked sheepish again as he smoothed his hair once more in that telling effort to recompose himself.

"As you know, our mission is to investigate an old Mako reactor," Sephiroth began. "There have been reports of it malfunctioning and producing brutal creatures. First, we will dispose of these creatures. Then we'll locate the problem and neutralize it."

Zack had begun tapping his foot in contemplation. It seemed to go in rhythm with the pattering of rain against the canvas. "You mentioned we were going to the reactor near Nibelheim, right?"

The blonde infantryman looked up. "Nibelheim," he moaned. "That's where I'm from."

"Oh, yeah!" Zack remarked. "I almost forgot!"

Sephiroth leaned back. "Hmm… hometown." He thought about what he felt back in Wutai as he watched Masamune's life force return to the Planet. That urge, that calling that was summoning him home. He could feel traces of it now, lingering within him. But there was no home for him to go to. Midgar was just a place where he lived. Sleeping and eating there regularly made no impact on his personal associations with the place. In fact, most of the time Midgar felt incredibly foreign to him, as if he didn't belong. He wasn't sure if it was the noise, the smog or the steel, but he never felt a desire to call Midgar 'home.' Or anywhere for that matter.

The blonde recruit… Zack… people in general did not feel the way Sephiroth did. Everyone had a hometown, some place they could return to when the rest of the world stopped being impressive or grand. There were shops and families and neighbors and childhood friends from school…

Sephiroth had just always been too different for all of that. Separate, apart… even amongst his old friends. They too at least had Banora to go back to in the end. It had just never occurred to Sephiroth that he needed a home in the first place.

His eyes found the motion-sick blonde who was hunched over, sweating and trying not to empty the contents of his stomach. Even through his illness and all around physical weakness, Sephiroth could detect the concern in his eyes, and overabundance of worry, probably for the safety and well-being of his home.

_A home can be something to fight for,_ Sephiroth realized, but before the implication of such an idea could actually set in he was knocked forward by a tremendous force. The truck shook violently and came to a halt as crates and bags fell all around them. The blonde suddenly heaved, losing his lunch.

"What the hell was that!?" screamed the driver. Zack's head popped up among the fallen supplied and he stared around in confusion with the other two recruits.

An animalistic roar joined the thunderclap that erupted outside and Sephiroth stood. "That would be our monster," he declared.

Zack scrambled to his feet and reached out for Angeal's Buster Sword. He waved to the infantrymen, screaming, "C'mon!" The blonde wiped and his mouth and stared fearfully at the canvas flap as Zack jumped through, but to the weak teenager's credit he took hold of his assault rifle and followed the others.

Sephiroth stepped out of the truck and into the rain. Ahead of him were the silhouettes of the others, searching for the monster but it was no where to be found. The road was darkness and rain and mud. Sephiroth held out his hand and called silently for Masamune. Like an extension of his very being it was there, the steel humming its familiar song of greeting. He joined Zack at the front of the line who turned to him and said, "That noise it made. It's gotta be huge." The black-haired man held the Buster Sword out in front of him in a defensive stance, his glowing eyes searching the dark.

"There," Sephiroth whispered, but he didn't wait for Zack to respond. He plunged into the dark and made a wide upwards arc with Masamune. The agonized cry of the creature pierced his eardrums as the sword sliced cleanly through its flesh. Lightning flashed and he caught a glimpse of the thing's face, lizard-like and large with a mouth big enough to fit a human being inside.

A huge claw came towards him, attached to a thick and scaly limb. Sephiroth leapt back and it missed but now he had drawn the creature out into the open for the others to see .Someone opened fire at it immediately, but the bullets barely fazed the thing while in its rage and desire to tear Sephiorth apart.

Zack charged upon seeing it and jumped high into the air, intending to cleave its head off with Angeal's sword. The monster simply reached up and swatted Zack away as if he were a bug. It was easily the size of a small building and towered over them all.

"Zack!" called the blonde as he ran to his comrade's aid. For the moment the creature still had its sight set on Sephiroth. As it stepped toward them in thundering steps that shook the road, Sephiroth noted with some astonishment that the monster resembled something like a dragon, with giant leathery wings attached to its back. It glared at Sephiroth and then let out a huge stream of flames from its mouth. Rather than jump out of the fire's way, Sephiroth went ran _towards_ it, his body passing so quickly through the stream that the heat did not have a chance to touch him.

He shoved Masamune straight up through the dragon's chin, instantly cutting off the fire that it was spewing forth. The blade stuck straight up through its brain and out of the creature's skull, and soon its body was limp and sinking to the ground. Sephiroth pushed his wet hair out of his face and pried the blade back out from between the thick scales. As if on cue with the entire situation, the rain seemed to let up a bit.

He looked towards where Zack's pained groans were coming from to find the other SOLDIER eventually getting to his feet with the help of the blonde recruit.

"Did you break anything?" Sephiroth asked.

The blonde looked at him with concern. "I think he has a bruised rib or two, but I don't think anything's broken."

"Step aside for a moment," Sephiroth ordered. The blonde hesitated but did as he was told, allowing Zack to stand on his own two feet, leaning against the Buster Sword. He looked up at Sephiroth with embarrassed eyes as he clutched his left side.

"I'm totally useless when I'm around you, huh?" he said. "I don't think I'll ever get the chance to show off as long as the Great Sephiroth is in town."

"Don't worry about it," Sephiroth replied as he searched his coat pockets.

"No, seriously, that was amazing," Zack said. "Has anyone told you how amazing you are in a fight?"

Sephiroth looked at him wryly. "You must be delirious. Don't embarrass yourself further, Zack. Just be quiet."

Zack let out a pained laugh. "Nope, I think you're the one that's embarrassed. All the praise embarrasses you, doesn't it?"

Sephiroth pulled out a green materia from his pocket and held out it towards his injured rib cage. "It's not something I necessarily seek out."

"Everyone deserves to feel appreciated every once in a while," Zack said.

Sephiroth concentrated a little bit as the green energy seeped out from the materia and through Zack's body. The younger SOLDIER sighed in relief as the waves of healing magic cooled the inflammation that was certain to be around his wound. "Appreciation is not the same as blind idolization," Sephiroth explained. "You'll understand what I mean when you get your chance at fame."

Zack smile was weak but genuine. "Thanks, Sephiroth, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon."

"When I'm gone, you'll be the only First Class SOLDIER left," Sephiroth said. He replaced the materia back in his coat. "Try moving a little."

"I'm gonna have a helluva reputation to live up to, that's for sure." Zack grimaced but for the most part he was able to move his upper body without issue. "Alright, not bad. Let's get this show on the road."

The clouds departed within the hour to let the morning sun shine through. Even so, the autumn winds that drifted down from the mountains made it a bit difficult for them to get comfortable in the truck now that they were all thoroughly soaked from the rain. Zack, much to Sephiroth's annoyance, spent the next hour or so doing squats in order to keep warm.

Still, the driver found Nibelheim without any further issue. The four of them stepped out of the truck once more to approach the town entrance while the driver stayed behind with the vehicle to find a proper place to park it off the side of the road. As they approached, the blonde hastily shoved his helmet over his head, something Sephiroth found a bit odd considering that Nibelheim was his hometown.

There was a simple wrought iron archway and ahead of it was a humble town square with an old well sitting in the middle of the cobblestoned courtyard. Looming above the town was Mount Nibel itself, and somewhere near its peak waited the Mako reactor.

Nibelheim itself was silent.

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**Author's Note: **Hey all, hope you haven't given up on me just yet. Here's an update after many grueling months of life in general. I've been in and out of the hospital for kidney failure since last November, but now that I'm finally recovered I'd say it's time to get some writing done, don't you agree?

Next chapter Sephiroth meets the residents of Nibelheim, including the young and pretty guide who will inevitably be linked to his fate as well as the fate of a certain blonde boy with a penchant for identity issues.

**Thank you all for your reviews thus far. I'm sincerely sorry that I didn't get to reply to them. Some of you have inquired about my original story. Unfortunately, due to my surgery, that was put on hold as well. Hopefully now I'll be able to get it published at some point this year. When I get closer to that date I'll let you know more details. In the meantime you should know that's it going to be a horror story set in our present time in reaction to some present circumstances. ^_~ I know very that's very vague. There'll be a website eventually I think though. **

**Also, some of you also expressed interest in seeing the Masamune spin-off story. I'm considering including it as bonus chapters as I don't imagine it'll be very long. Thank you all again for reading, I hope you continue to enjoy.**


	15. Fifteen

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy VII Compilation belongs rightfully to Square-Enix. This amateur effort at fan-based fiction is in no way making profit off of the licensed characters described therein, nor is it associating any new original characters to Square-Enix either.

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**Chapter Fifteen**

* * *

"How does it feel?" Sephiroth found himself asking. When there wasn't a response, he turned back around to face his companions, his gaze falling on the blonde who had chosen to hide his face from his old neighbors as soon as they entered the town. Sephiroth found that peculiar, as he had previously figured the boy would've wanted to let his family and friends know that he had arrived. Now the SOLDIER was genuinely curious as to the blonde's feelings on the matter. Perhaps not everyone regarded their hometown with as much fondness as Sephiroth previously imagined…

The blonde titled his helmeted head slightly in inquiry, as if unsure that Sephiroth had been addressing him in the first place.

"It's your first time back in your hometown in a long time, correct?" Sephiroth clarified. "So, how does it feel? I wouldn't know because I don't have a hometown," he admitted.

Zack joined the group, stopping just before Sephiroth at Nibelheim's entrance. "What about family?" he asked.

Sephiorth hid his surprise, as it wasn't often that people asked him about any of his relatives. "My mother's name is Jenova," he explained. "She died right after she gave birth to me. My father…"

He trailed off, unsure of what to say. Sephiroth hadn't previously wondered much as to the identity of his father, nor had he been exposed to many father figures in his life, save for Professor Farenis Gast. He remembered his last conversation with the man before the scientist disappeared off of the face of the Planet.

'_I'm not certain if my work would ever give me the necessary time to devote to it, but I'd love to have a child of my own someday… If it isn't to be, I'm at least very glad that I watched you grow, Sephiroth. Very glad indeed.'_

Sephiroth detected a familiar hallow feeling in his chest, one he hadn't felt since Gast's disappearance when he had been but a teenager. In order to banish the emotion he began to laugh, gesturing with a hand in dismissal of the conversation he had started. "Why am I talking about this?" he asked himself, as if it were a topic of little to no importance. "All right, let's go."

He didn't wait to see if the others would follow. Sephiroth entered the town, the entrance courtyard as silent as before, with the exception of the quiet swishing of water in the old well tower. Sephiroth looked around him at the country-style homes, spotting a face or two peeking in curiosity through the various windows. No one seemed intent on investigating Shin-Ra's presence in their town any further than that.

_Is the outbreak really that bad?_ he wondered. Or was it because of Genesis? Sephiorth remembered Tseng's status reports on Banora, of how Zack and the Turk had found a ghost town by the time they arrived to investigate. Either way, he was grateful for the caution by the townsfolk. It would indeed be best to avoid as many civilian casualties as possible, and if they were voluntarily staying out of his way then his task in Nibelheim would follow through a lot more smoothly.

He stared up at Mount Nibel, contemplating its height. With noon nearing, they would barely make it to the peak before nightfall. No, he decided, it was best if he arranged for the hike to take place early next morning, perhaps even with a guide to bring some ease to their expedition. Their prolonged presence in the town might attract some unwanted attention, but Sephiroth was determined to insure that his men would not disturb the civilians.

He sensed Zack's approach. "The Mako smell is pretty bad here," he commented, his nostrils already full with the wet muskiness that came from harvesting the substance. The potency of the scent confirmed to him that the Mako reactor above must have indeed suffered damage after all if it was producing so much of it.

"Everyone must be staying in their houses," Zack said, "afraid to come out because of the monsters."

"Hmm…" came Sephiorth's distracted reply. He was still staring up at the mountain, as if waiting for their answers to appear from it.

"No," Zack decided. "Maybe they're afraid of us…"

Zack's words dragged Sephiroth out of his reverie. "We leave for the reactor at dawn," he informed them. Make sure you get to sleep early." Sephiroth started walking towards the local inn, a building conveniently located within the courtyard. He paused just before the entrance doors, feeling a pair of questioning eyes on him.

He turned to find the blonde, having momentarily forgotten he was there. "Oh, that's right," Sephiroth said to him. "You may visit your family and friends."

The nearly nauseating Mako smell from outside lessened a bit when he entered the building, replaced by the smoky and welcoming scent of a hearth. It burned somewhere in the back of the place, unseen. The innkeeper looked up from the counter in that genuinely shocked way that Sephiroth had long since grown accustomed to. He approached the aged man, saying, "I need lodging for my men tonight. We'll be investigating the reactor tomorrow."

The innkeeper seemed to think better than to continue gaping at him, instead clearing his throat and opening a ledger. "How many accommodations?"

"I need a room for myself, and one for four others," he explained. It probably would have been less costly for the company if Sephiroth simply ordered one room for all of them, but at this point he could care less about Shin-Ra's expenses. Arriving in Nibelheim also seemed to put him in a pensive mood, and he wanted nothing more than to be left alone with his thoughts for the day. He just hoped that the innkeeper had the space available for his request.

"My rooms aren't very large," the innkeeper explained, "but I think we can manage, sir. Now that winter is approaching we don't get very many travelers. With the exception of ol' Mr. Zangan back there, you'll pretty much have the entire inn to yourselves."

Sephiroth raised his silver eyebrows in genuine interest. "Zangan?"

"Yessir," said the old man, "he's back there in the parlor room if you wanna see 'im. Real exciting stuff going on today it seems. There's a famous fella like yerself, and then there's Zangan comin' here to train our own in the fine martial arts. I'm feeling a lot safer already."

Sephiroth signed the ledger and was given a pair of keys. He walked past the desk and through the door which led to a backroom. There he found the hearth he had smelled before, a fireplace in front of a pair of cushioned recliners. The room had a distinctly country feel about it, with its thick carpeting, lace curtains and wood paneling. The recliners however, had been pushed somewhat to the sides of the room, as well as the coffee table, to make way for the pair that were conversing in the very middle of the room. One of them was a man Sephiroth recognized, a middle-aged barrel-chested man with gray hair and a matching beard. The rust-colored cloak that was draped over his shoulder was the trademark that made him recognizable however, as one of the most distinguished martial artists in the world.

What was most intriguing about the scene however, was the individual with which Zangan was conversing. She couldn't have been any older than fifteen years of age, dressed in a typical country get up – a brown suede vest and riding boots. Though she was a petite and delicate-looking brunette, there was no mistaking the thin layer of sweat over her pale skin. With the furniture in the parlor pushed aside, Sephiroth could only guess that the girl had participated in some kind of impromptu sparring session.

Upon Sephiroth's entrance, the two turned to look at him. Zangan's eyes also betrayed recognition, as he said, "As I live and breathe, if it isn't the Great Sephiroth…"

The girl did a double-take between Zangan and Sephiroth. "Really? Wow!" In an almost self-conscious manner she hastily wiped the sweat from her brow and smoothed down the strands of brown hair that had gone astray.

Zangan approached and offered Sephiorth a familiar and hardy pat on the shoulder. "It's been too long, my friend! If only I had known you were coming to this neck of the woods. What a delightful turn of events!"

Sephiroth gestured dismissively with something akin to but not quite a shrug. "What can I say, it's a secret mission."

Zangan burst out with a laugh that was as hardy as his greeting. "Secret mission! Those are the best kind!" Then he gestured to the girl, beckoning her over. "Tifa, Tifa, come on over here, let me introduce you." The girl, Tifa, gathered her composure and joined the martial artist at his side, smiling pleasantly in a typically youthful way. "This is my newest student, Tifa Lockheart."

"How do you do?" she politely asked, and Sephiroth only nodded.

"She is my one-hundred and twenty-eighth student thus far," Zangan proudly explained, "and the first of her kind in the Nibel region. Quite talented this one, probably the best I've seen in years. "

Tifa blushed, turning her face away in embarrassment. "Thank you, sensei."

Sephiroth gave her an impassive glance, having anticipated that Zangan would spend a good portion of the conversation gushing about his student. "If Zangan's praise holds any weight whatsoever, you might try for acceptance into SOLDIER."

She looked up abruptly, the embarrassment immediately fading from her cheeks. "Oh no, I couldn't do that," she hastily replied. "Thank you, though, Mister Sephiroth."

Sephiroth turned back to Zangan. Tifa's reply was a common response from females. Though there were many physical benefits that came from the Mako exposure in SOLDIER recruits, they were not without significant setbacks. Very few women applied to SOLDIER, for it was well known that Mako treatments had a tendency to increase birth defects and health problems for women who might become pregnant after exposure. There weren't many who were willing to take such a risk with their bodies, and understandably so. As it was, Naomi Posada was the only female currently enlisted in SOLDIER, and she had faced no shortage of social scrutiny and judgment from her family members and peers for her choice to possibly sacrifice her reproductive capabilities.

Not that any of it mattered to Sephiroth. He had posed the suggestion to Tifa merely out of habit. These days he felt very little obligation to increase SOLDIER's ranks.

"I have to say, Sephiorth," started Zangan. "I really am surprised to see you out here. I mean, I figured that Shin-Ra would send some boys out here to deal with the monsters, but I didn't think the situation was this serious."

Sephiroth didn't react to the worry that appeared in Tifa's eyes, the same worry that probably motivated her neighbors to stay quarantined within their homes. "It's classified information, Zangan," he told him. "I can't say much else about the situation. I do, however, need a guide into the mountain, and since you've been here longer than I have, I thought you might have someone in mind that is capable and up to the task."

Zangan didn't seem to give it much thought, immediately answering, "Well, Tifa here is pretty knowledgeable about the mountain trails. Told me she used to explore 'em even as a kid. Isn't that right, Tifa?"

Tifa was agape for a moment. "Y-yes, I do know some of them, though I wouldn't want to be in your way."

Zangan laughed before Sephiroth had a chance to respond. "Nonsense! You're an excellent navigator, you showed me yourself! Not to mention, Sephiroth, she learned self-defense from the very best in the world, so in case there's any trouble, she could certainly hold her own in a fight. A lot less to worry about that way."

Sephiroth was reluctant to bring such a young civilian along, but they did need a guide, and there was too much time they would be wasting by exploring the trails on their own. Zangan made a good argument: having a self-sufficient guide would be less of liability to them.

"How well do you know them?" Sephiroth asked her.

"Be honest now," said Zangan.

Tifa closed her eyes momentarily and looked as if she was holding back some sort of burden within her. "I have them memorized," she admitted, releasing a breath.

"I won't force you to participate," Sephiroth said.

Tifa nodded. "No, this is important. The outbreak has gotten worse and friends have been hurt. You need to get to the reactor, and I'm the only one in this town who'll be able to get you up there."

"That'a girl!" Zangan triumphantly replied.

"Very well," Sephiroth said. "We'll meet tomorrow at dawn."

He didn't wait for them to respond. Sephiroth left the parlor room and proceeded up stairs to investigate the accommodations. He stopped in the middle of the corridor on the way to his room, the sight through the window to his right catching his attention. Just through some of the pine trees he saw the shape of a large building, one he had hadn't seen in the courtyard. It was entirely isolated, separated from Nibelheim by its own unkempt grounds. A mansion, from the looks of it, cast in the shadow of what could have only been years of abandonment. Vines of ivy had devoured most of its walls and most of the windows were boarded up. Weeds and shrubbery grew wild across the grounds, and even from the second floor of the inn Sephiroth could glimpse a piano through one of the only uncovered windows.

Something about the mansion called out in familiarity to him. Sephiroth had been to many places in the world in his lifetime, but he didn't recall ever having visited a place as remote as Nibelheim. Even so, he could almost imagine the smell of the grounds when fresh and regularly tended to, see the hustle and bustle of various personnel passing through each wing of the house… Impossible, he thought, for he had never been to this town in his entire life.

He sensed Zack approach him on the second floor landing but didn't look at him, his gaze still transfixed by the abandoned manor ahead.

"What are you looking at?" Zack eventually asked, the view having interested him for only a moment.

"This scenery," Sephiroth remarked, "I feel like I know this place." Another moment of silence passed between them, and when Sephiroth was sure Zack wasn't going to say anything, he turned to the SOLDIER and said, "We have an early start tomorrow. You should get some sleep soon."

Zack glanced at the window again. "It's still early," he said.

Sephiroth stared at him apathetically. "I'm not going to wake you up tomorrow." Part of him felt almost like a babysitter, obligated to tuck a child into bed. He turned away from Zack, hiding his annoyance and preferring to distract himself with the scenery again.

"Yeah," Zack eventually agreed, clearing his throat. "Let's get some sleep."

"I've hired a guide to the Mako reactor," Sephiroth informed him as Zack turned to head towards his room. "She's young. I hope we can rely on her."

"Cool," Zack replied, opening the door. "Goodnight, sir."

Sephiroth looked out the window again as Zack disappeared behind the door. Yes, it was still early. It would be a few hours until dusk. But Sephiroth preferred to lay low while in the town, attracting as little attention as possible in case Genesis was actually nearby. No one would think twice about the infantrymen he left outside, one of whom would probably be visiting old neighbors, but two First Class SOLDIERS couldn't possibly wander about such a small community without causing excitement or concern. He hoped for Genesis to never even expect that he'd come out this far into the country.

After another few minutes, he forced himself to look away from the abandoned manor at last. Sephiroth quickly went to look for his room, concerned with the strong feeling of déjà vu and familiarity that the abandoned building inspired within him.

"Ridiculous," he muttered to himself as he switched the lights on. There was no point in dwelling on the feeling, he decided, as it would only serve to distract him and make him lose focus on the more important matters at hand.

Sephiroth took to observing the modest space before him, a small but comfortable room with one bed and a writing desk. Someone had already come by and dispensed the supply bag he brought with him, probably the innkeeper, he guessed. In it he had packed a change of clothes, some of his materia, as well as technical schematics of the Mako reactor in the mountain. It was a much older model than what he was used to seeing, so Sephiroth anticipated some difficulty in repairing such dated equipment. Also, if they did happen to find the stolen cloning machinery, they would need to know how to deal with that as well.

He spent a few hours going over the technical records he brought along. Then, after a shower, Sephiroth climbed into the soft mattress of the bed. It took a while to adjust to, being that it was a little stiff from age. The pillows were stuffed with feathers, which he wasn't used to either. Many of the pillows back in the cities were very plump and filled with synthetic materials. This was comfortable in its own way but had a tendency to become flat after repeated use. It didn't feel as though the innkeepers had changed the bedding in a while. Still, Sephiroth had slept in more trying conditions before, and as a result of war-like conditions he found little reason to complain. Really, it was his mind that needed more adjusting to the environment than his body. For a long while he kept still but his thoughts remained active, thoughts of Genesis, of Angeal, of their parents who made the choices that would forever determine the fate of their sons. He wondered control and willpower, and if he also had any say in his own fate as well.

He wondered about his mother, about what kind of person she might have been. Did she mean for him to become a member of SOLDIER? Was she motivated for the same reasons Eva Rhapsodos and Gillian Hewley had been? Did she even have a choice in the matter?

Was it question worth learning the answer to?

When he did finally drift off to sleep, Sephiroth dreamed he was in a vast darkness, separated from his own body, as if his own consciousness had gone adrift in an endless void. He wandered until he found a stream, a river of light that flowed upwards into the void. He stopped to watch it and after a while he began to hear voices, indistinguishable and vaguely human. The closer he got to the stream the louder the noise became, as if he stood amidst a crowd in the street with traffic rushing by.

_These aren't just voices,_ he decided. If he tried hard enough he could reach out and touch one in the stream…

Then the alarm clock went off, startling Sephiroth out of his sleep. He looked around, feeling as though he had only just gone to sleep a minute ago, but the clock proved that he had slept for almost nine hours. He silenced the alarm and got dressed before folding the schematic of the reactor into his coat pocket. Then he went through his supply bag, equipping himself with a small golden armlet on his left wrist which would carry the materia reserves he brought along, his normal reserves already placed within the hilt of Masamune.

Downstairs he found one of the infantrymen, sipping the freshly brewed coffee provided by the innkeeper. Sephiroth briefly wondered where the blonde one went, if he had chosen to stay with family for the night. The one sipping coffee appeared older than his comrade, with dark stubble giving him a slightly weary look. He gave Sephiroth a salute and then downed the rest of his drink before donning his helmet and following Sephiroth out of the inn.

The sun had not quite risen over Mount Nibel, and the town still appeared to be bathed in night. A layer of morning fog clung to the ground, circling around the old well. As Sephiroth passed it he spotted a pair in front of a door to a house, arguing amongst themselves. Upon further observation he realized that it was Tifa, their guide, in dispute with a middle aged man; no doubt the man she argued with was her father. Sephiroth approached them.

"I've told you how much I hate it when you go up there," her father pleaded. "Why would you make me worry, especially after that last time?"

"I was only a kid then," Tifa quietly replied, fiddling nervously with the cowboy hat in her hands. Her eyes were downcast, as if ashamed to meet her father's gaze.

"Tifa, please -,"

"She'll be all right," Sephiroth reassured, startling the both of them. "I don't anticipate that we'll face much of a combat situation, not if we fix the reactor promptly and efficiently."

"It's not the fighting I'm worried about," said Tifa's father. He had a prominent brown mustache that gave a mild layer of sophistication on top of his country fashion. His eyes were as dark as Tifa's and both parent and child shared the same sadness in them.

"What is it?" Sephiroth asked. Tifa turned away from him.

"The mountain…" Mr. Lockheart murmured. "We have a long history with that place. Tifa was hurt a long time ago while climbing its heights. This was just after my wife passed away."

"Papa…" Tifa hid her face, apparently embarrassed by the story.

"I see," Sephiroth answered. "Perhaps you know of someone else who can lead the way, then?"

This caused the other man to falter. "Ah… no. No, I'm sorry. Tifa…" He looked to his daughter with immense concern. "I just don't want her to be hurt again."

Somehow Sephiroth had the impression that Mr. Lockheart didn't mean physical hurt. "She won't be alone," Sephiroth assured him. "If we can repair the cause of the outbreak, your daughter will have been directly responsible for saving many lives in Nibelheim."

Suddenly, the teenage girl looked back at her father, her gaze becoming almost frighteningly determined. "I'm going," she decided, her tone leaving almost no room for debate. Her father appeared defeated as she put the cowboy hat back on her head and straightened it.

"The rest of the squad should be appearing shortly," Sephiroth said as she and Mr. Lockheart followed him. Tifa eventually began to lead the way once they were past the courtyard. After a few more blocks of houses they came across a wide and barren road, at the end of which stood a tall wrought iron gate. Tifa stopped before it to greet a young man holding a camera.

"You're up early," she said.

The cameraman beamed at her. "I nearly overslept. I heard Sephiroth was in town and I didn't want to miss this opportunity!"

Sephiroth ignored him, noticing the familiar building behind the gate. It was the mansion he saw through the window back at the inn. "This house," he began. "Who does it belong to?"

The cameraman looked behind him at the mansion and shrugged. "I think it used to belong to the Shinra family, but nobody's lived in it for years. Sometimes I come by to take pictures of it. They say it's haunted."

"It's all nonsense," Tifa's father added. "How else are we supposed to entertain the kids way out here?"

_So it belonged to the President then,_ Sephiroth thought. _Why would he need a home in such a remote place?_

"Listen to me, Sephiroth," Mr. Lockheart commanded, unafraid to stare up at the SOLDIER. "If something happens to her…"

"Trust me," Sephiroth answered, staring coolly back at the man's challenging glare. The man's boldness was almost admirable, if a little foolish. How could putting himself in harm's way possibly benefit his daughter any more than allowing her traverse the mountains with them?

The blonde infantryman joined them just then, his helmet concealing his face just like his comrade's. They nodded to one another before the blonde formally saluted Sephiorth. Then there was Zack, appearing through the fog and rubbing his eyes tiredly. The sun was just beginning to peek through the mountain range as he joined the group.

"Mornin'," he greeted. Tifa smiled and waved at him, causing Zack to gape in surprise. "Tifa! You're the guide?" Sephiroth guessed that Zack met the girl sometime after they had first arrived.

"That's right," came Tifa's pleasant response. "I just happen to be the number one guide in this town."

"It's too dangerous!" Zack protested. "I can't let you get involved in something like this!"

Sephiroth held back the urge to roll his eyes, fairly certain that the girl was perfectly capable of making her own choices. He doubted a student of Zangan would appreciate being patronized by every man around her. Her father was one thing, but Zack was practically a stranger, and Sephiroth didn't want the mission to be delayed any further than it already was.

"Then there should be no problem if you protect her," Sephiroth chided, sounding mildly sarcastic. "Let's go."

"Ummm…."

Sephiroth turned to see the photographer timidly approach him.

"Mr. Sephiroth, will you please allow me to take a picture as a momento of your visit?" The young man glanced at Tifa imploringly. "Tifa, can you ask him for me too?"

Tifa smiled at him before also looking to Sephiroth. "One picture can't hurt the mission, right?"

"Sounds fun," Zack enthusiastically added, ever on the lookout for recognition. He immediately posed with his arms crossed over his chest while Tifa reached up to straighten her hat again. Sephiroth suppressed a sigh and simply stared blankly at the cameraman, waiting for him to shoot the picture. The three of them were lined up in front of the Shinra manor's gate as the flash went off, capturing an image of the only two First Class members in SOLDIER with their young and beautiful guide.

"Great!" Tifa's neighbor exclaimed. "Thank you so much! I'll give you each a copy once I get it developed."

Tifa approached her father and embraced him. "I'll be back before you know it, Papa."

"Just be careful," he whispered to her.

Then they were on their way, Tifa leading Sephiroth, Zack and the two infantrymen through the narrow path towards the mountain. The cliff faces to either side of them were mostly featureless, and the trail went steadily upwards. Finally, a clearing emerged at the top of the hill and they could see the whole of the mountain range before them, Mount Nibel standing imposingly off to the left.

"It'll take a few hours to get to the reactor, but I know the shortest way," Tifa explained, shielding her eyes a bit against the rising sun. "Back before I was born, the company built a rope bridge between one of the gaps. I guess they needed to get personnel back and forth to the reactor with a little more efficiency while they were building it."

Sephiroth nodded and then she led them down a winding trail that took them to the foot of the mountains. The peaks were hidden almost entirely by clouds, and every meter upwards came with another drop in temperature. At times he wondered how Tifa managed with her short skirt and revealing blouse, but he also supposed that the residents of Nibelheim had become quite acclimated to the cold weather.

There were also many trails, and now Sephiroth truly understood how easy it would've been for them to get lost. The paths were also very precarious at times. There were many instances in which they had to hug the side of a wall to keep themselves from tumbling over the mountainside. After about an hour or two they could no longer see the foot of the mountain range, the bottom of the terrain completely covered in fog. There was also a curious lack of vegetation in the area, and Sephiroth attributed it to both the climate and the harvesting of Mako. Older models tended to lack the efficiency of modern ones, and tended to absorb more energy and radiation than what was necessary, especially for a town as small as Nibelheim.

Sephiroth thought back to his schematic and suddenly realized how odd it was of Shin-Ra to have chosen such a robust model to harvest so much energy. Even thirty years ago there had been variations they could have chosen from, smaller reactors that would not drain as much from the Planet. Why would Nibelheim have needed so much power in the first place? What could necessitate the need for it?

_Genesis,_ he thought, now almost entirely certain that the ex-SOLDIER had chosen Nibel as the place to hide Hollander's stolen equipment. Perhaps Nibelheim was even one of the original testing sites for Hollander's experimentation on both Genesis and Angeal…

"How much further?" Sephiroth asked, now anxious to reach the reactor.

"The hard part is just up ahead, after the bridge," Tifa answered.

Zack whistled in astonishment when they reached it. The rope bridge stretched across a huge expanse, the other side touching Mount Nibel. Sephiroth frowned at it, not entirely certain of its stability. Parts of the rope were frayed and worn with age. The wooden planks they would be walking across looked as though they had been bearing the elements for decades, and it was doubtful that anyone came by regularly to repair them.

"One at a time," Tifa suggested, "and not too quickly. You know, just in case…"

"Shouldn't we just take the alternate way around?" one of the infantrymen suggested.

"It would take a lot longer," Tifa replied. "Trust me, though. If we're careful, we should be fine."

Sephiroth went ahead first, with Zack just behind him. Their party was in a pretty vulnerable position for attack, and having seen Genesis' military strategies first hand, Sephiroth wanted to be across the bridge first in case there was an ambush waiting for them up ahead. He placed a careful foot on the first plank and it held. At a steady pace he started across, taking note of which planks were weaker than others. He heard Tifa behind him giving instructions to the others to follow her method of crossing.

Half way across she said to the infantrymen, "Steady… no, don't try to rush it."

Sephiroth gripped the rope when he felt the bridge shake. He stopped and looked back at the group, only to find that the officer at the back had completely come to a halt, with Tifa doing her best to encourage him to continue.

"It's okay," she reassured. "You're fine, we're fine. Just take it easy."

Sephiroth wasn't entirely sure which of the officers it was that was having trouble, but he chose to go on ahead, not wanting to continue burdening the structure with their weight. Perhaps on the trip back he would instruct Tifa to take them back on the alternative path.

"Uh… the bridge!" someone shouted.

Sephiroth felt the tension in the rope give way as a loud snap echoed across the canyon. He immediately clenched his hands around it as the planks gave way beneath his feet. He heard Tifa and some of the others scream, but he couldn't look back as he swung with the bridge into the side of Mount Nibel. He braced himself for the impact and gasped as the air was knocked out of his chest by the force. Reaffirming his hold on the bridge he looked down to see that Zack had caught Tifa by the wrist and the glimpse of one of the infantryman's bright blue uniforms.

Then there was the sudden g-force of a fall, the remainder of the bridge they were clinging to having unraveled at the other end. Sephiroth and the others fell through the mist, Tifa screaming for her life. He did his best to slow his own descent by positioning himself horizontally, but the ground appeared sooner than he anticipated. Sephiroth grunted from the pain that shot up through his calves but not before he forced himself into a roll to redistribute the impact, immediately grateful for the spaudlers on his shoulders that he had often thought of as bulky.

An ear-splitting squawk drew his attention to the creature ahead. It was winged but featherless, a giant reptile-like bird with leathery skin cutting through the air almost jet-like in his direction. As it drew closer two others joined it in flank in a perfect v-shape formation of attack. Sephiroth stood and held out his hand, a gathering of ice spikes materializing before his palm. They shot out at the flying creatures, piercing straight through them in rapid succession. Sephiroth watched them scream and tumble down the side of the mountain before turning around to see what had become of his party.

Zack was sitting on the ground, rubbing the back of his head while an infantryman helped Tifa to her feet. The girl suffered a few scrapes along her bare thigh, elbows and forearms, but save for that she was fine, better than he had expected any of them to be.

"Everyone seems to be fine," Sephiroth said as he looked up at the fog they fell through. It looked as though they had fallen onto one of the lower paths of Mount Nibel, by chance of luck alone. If they had gone any further on the bridge they would have missed it. "Can we get back to where we were?"

Tifa's delicate eyebrows furrowed in concentration. She also seemed to consider the fact that they happened to get lucky with their fall. "I think I know where we are… Mount Nibel is full of caves, and they're intertwined with the trails, almost like a giant ant farm."

Sephiroth nodded. "And you can navigate through them?"

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Oh, and Sephiroth… there seems to be one person missing."

This gave Zack a start. He stood up and peered over the edge of the mountain side. "Damn it! I think he fell when the bridge snapped." Zack looked over at the remaining officer. "How're you doing?"

The other man swayed a bit, as if dizzy, and Sephiroth recognized those motion-sick mannerisms as belonging to the blonde one. After a moment he nodded, but said nothing in response to Zack.

Tifa's face contorted into sadness and worry. "What do we do?"

"It may sound cold, but we've got no time to search for him," Sephiroth decided, ignoring the alarm that crossed both Zack and Tifa's expressions, Tifa's more akin to outrage.

"We can't just leave him!" Tifa protested. "He could still be alive somewhere!"

Sephiroth looked down at the teenage girl, unfazed by her anger. "We have neither the man power nor the resources to search this wilderness. If we can make it to the reactor we can also return to the village to organize a search party." He sincerely doubted the infantryman had survived the fall in either case, so the best course of action in his opinion was to keep moving.

Tifa stormed past him without another word, leading the way across the trail that had served as a savior for their fall. It really wasn't so much of a trail as it was a very fortunate landing, for it was but a few yards before Tifa took them into the mouth of a small cave. They all crouched into the hole, the blonde Shin-Ra Security Officer preparing a flashlight for the dark, but they all quickly discovered that they didn't need it. The cavern was lit up by its own walls, colors of green and blue and pink shimmering throughout, as if someone had captured and aurora from the night sky and trapped it in a room.

"What is this?" Zack uttered, looking around in awe. The cave ceiling wasn't very high but it split off into dozens of other passages, just as Tifa said it would.

"The colors here amaze me every time," Tifa admitted in a soft voice, as if afraid to disturb the scenery.

"It must be the Mako energy," Sephiroth said, his voice echoing. "This mountain is especially abundant in it. That's why the Mako reactor was built here."

Tifa took a few minutes to gauge their surroundings. The cave was the ant-farm she had described, and for a moment it almost looked as though she didn't remember where to go. However, an idea struck her and then their guide enthusiastically pointed them in a new direction. "You're gonna love this," she promised, hurrying ahead in excitement.

Sephiroth had to crouch into the next tunnel, but it didn't go on for long. There was clear and apparent daylight on the other side, which he took to be a good sign. He met Tifa in a completely new area, a clearing somehow wedged into the mountain. Something akin to thick tree roots stretched across the area, converging into trunk-like shape in the very middle of the clearing. On top of the natural structure was a large shining crystal nudged within, but unlike ordinary crystal formations often found in caves, this one emitted a soft but very distinct glow. Liquid Mako was pooled all around the trunk beneath it, and to Sephiroth's surprise, it didn't have that musky smell that was typical of Mako when processed in a reactor. No, indeed, he couldn't quite describe the smell. It was grass, and dew, and the ocean, and even that peculiar but not entirely unpleasant scent that was exclusively found in the nursery of a hospital. Sephiroth was initially stunned by the sight of it all, surprised that such a thing could even exist, but as Tifa approached the fountain of light, prior knowledge and reason allowed him to logically determine what it was they were witnessing.

For the second time within a few minutes, Zack uttered, "What is this?" Sephiroth had a feeling it would turn out to be his catchphrase for the day.

"Isn't it so beautiful?" Tifa asked.

"This is a Mako fountain," Sephiroth explained, joining Tifa near it. "A miracle of nature."

"But if the Mako reactor continues to suck up the energy, won't this fountain eventually dry up too?" Tifa questioned.

Sephiroth nodded and then pointed at the abnormally shaped crystal in the middle. "Materia," he said. "When Mako energy is condensed, the remaining substance is hardened and produces materia. It's actually very rare to be able to see materia in its natural state." He pointed to his armlet to prove the point, at the perfectly spherical gems that were equipped within.

Zack also joined them at the fountain. "By the way…" he said. "Why is it that materia allows you to use magic, anyway?"

Sephiroth gave him an incredulous look. "You're in SOLDIER and don't even know the reason for this?" Zack shrugged as Sephiroth suppressed another sigh. "The knowledge of and wisdom of the Ancients is said to be held within the materia. Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the land and the Planet, summoning forces of nature with sheer willpower. That knowledge interacts between ourselves and the Planet, calling up these forces, or 'magic' as they say."

"Magic…" Zack breathed. "Such a mysterious power…"

Something about Zack's awed expression forced a chuckle out of Sephiroth. The other SOLDIER looked over at him in confusion.

"Did I say something funny?" he asked.

Sephiroth sobered up, recalling what it was that made him laugh in the first place. "A man once told me to never use a term as unscientific as 'mysterious power.' I still remember how angry he was just for referring to it as magic..."

"Who said that?" Zack wondered.

"Hojo," Sephiroth replied. "What an inexperienced man to have taken over the work of a great scientist… a walking mass of complexes…" It had always brought Sephiroth great entertainment and amusement to get under Hojo's skin, ever taunted by even the slightest notion that he might be inferior in any way to Professor Gast.

Zack shook his head. "Yeah, don't even get me started on that guy…"

"So this is where the knowledge of the Ancients is," Tifa mused, peering closely at the fountain while being careful not to touch it. "That gives this place an entirely new meaning for me."

Tifa led the way once more, taking them up a path that was a bit difficult to walk because of its steep incline. Once they reached level ground the area transitioned into a wide and featureless mountain peak, the polar opposite of the color and magnificence of what they found down below in the caves. Sephiroth could already feel the steady hum of machinery reverberating through the ground, a sign that the reactor was very close.

Zack slowed his stride after Tifa in order walk beside Sephiroth. "Hey, is everything cool?"

Sephiroth's silver eyebrows knitted together bit. "Yes, I suppose."

"Okay," Zack answered, trying to appear casual by stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Umm… about what happened back there, when we fell…"

"What about it?"

"Do you think we'll find him?" Zack said quietly, hiding his voice from Tifa who didn't appear to take notice of their conversation.

"It's a possibility," said Sephiroth, though he was still convinced that there was little to no chance that the man survived the fall.

"Good," Zack replied. He gave Sephiroth a small but rueful smile. "I just don't like the thought of leaving anyone behind, you know?"

"Mmm hmm," was Sephiroth's non-committal answer. Was there a point to this conversation?

"In case worst comes to worst though," Zack continued, "Jones had a family in Kalm so I'll go visit them if you want me to. You know, in case you were wondering." The younger SOLDIER then resumed his regular pace, the usual cheerful and care free attitude returning to his demeanor. Sephiroth stared blankly at his back as Zack walked on ahead to catch up with Tifa.

No, he hadn't been wondering.

* * *

**Author's Note:**Soooo... this is probably the first time in a VERY long time that it didn't take me like a year to update. I'm gonna try to keep up this pace especially now that we're gonna be getting into the meat and potatoes of Nibelheim. Hopefully there's a certain momentum that comes with writing Sephiroth's downward spiral into madness...

Also, thank you all for the very kind wishes that were sent in regards to my health. I may not have a lot of readers but I'm glad that the ones I do have are so compassionate. Really, thank you. =)

Now, as for this chapter, please please please don't hesitate to leave the constructive criticisms if you feel the need to. This if the foundation for the entire Nibelheim arc, and the climax of the story, so yeah, do let me know what you think can be improved if anything at all. I had some doubts about this chapter seeing as a lot of it was FFVII novelization, but I did my best to make it flow a little bit more naturally with some pieces here and there that are new. Hopefully the remaining chapters don't feel as we're though we're treading on in-game scenes you've probably seen a thousand times.

Another thing about this chapter... you'll notice it more closely resembles the FFVII version rather than Crisis Core. Even though this story is technically Crisis Core from Sephiroth's POV, there were many parts of Crisis Core during the Nibelheim arc that I thought were incredibly lacking in execution as well as outright missing from the original game, such as the scene at the mako fountain where Sephiroth explains how he feels about Hojo. I felt that CC sort of rushed Nibelheim at times, which was a real shame considering the time they put into Sephiroth's character development in previous scenes.

Next up, Sephiroth learns of the secrets Shin-Ra tried to hide within the old Mako reactor. This is it folks. The point of no return for our beloved "hero."

**Shinz** - I'm glad you're still following the story and I'm glad you enjoyed the update and that it still holds up to the quality of previous chapters for you. I hope Nibelheim delivers to your excitement and expectations! ^^


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